


Poison Ivy

by TalkMagically



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, Humor, Romance, romcom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2018-08-10 14:58:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 53,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7849588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalkMagically/pseuds/TalkMagically
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tim hated attending the events Lyndi forced upon him. As much as he loved doing it, writing was very much NOT his day job. However, this latest event seems to bring something new that he didn't expect.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You're New

Timothy slouched slightly in his seat with a heavy sigh. A quick glance around the ballroom told him that, apparently, everyone else was enthralled by the speaker. It was moments like this that make him happy that he didn't attend every convention Lyndi threw his way.

"Bored?" He jumped, snapping his head to the right to look across the round table he sat at. A young woman with a curious face sat there. He hadn't hear her sit down.

"I'm starting to be. This isn't the first time I've heard Fisherman's speech. He hasn't updated it at all." Tim let out a small laugh as he straightened himself properly in his seat. "You would think he'd take new and upcoming authors into consideration each year he's asked to attend."

"Alex Fisherman wouldn't know a true writer if one bit him in the ass." The woman whispered back, looking up at the stage as she spoke. This pulled another chuckle from Tim. He turned his chair so he could face her straight on, finding her much more entertaining than the older man at the microphone.

"I don't believe I've seen you here before." Tim's eyes took in as much of her as they could, from her fiery red hair to the sparkles of her strapless black dress. Freckles sprinkled her face and shoulders but something told Tim they wouldn't be anywhere else on her body. At first glance her eyes appeared to be blue, but lingering on them a few seconds made Tim realize that they were a bold gray. The only jewelry he saw was the diamond pendant necklace delicately gracing her neck. A smirk on her small mouth told Tim she felt his scrutiny despite not looking at him. "Are you new to the convention circuit?"

"In a way." The woman returned her gaze to Tim, caressing her drink glass lightly. "I'm one of those new authors you mentioned."

"Really? Where did you stake your claim? Mystery? Science fiction? Romance?" Tim's rapid questions made the woman laugh. It was a throaty sound that he hadn't expected from a female as slender as her.

"Psychological thriller. What's your day job? A lawyer? Feels like I'm suddenly in an interrogation." Tim had enough decency to go slightly pink in the face.

"Law enforcement. Sorry. The questions are a hard habit to break once you start." The woman smiled widely, oddly in understanding.

"That's ok. I'm a forensic psychologist. I know what it's like." She reached her hand across the table to offer it to him. "I'm... Lynn Price."

Tim recognized her name. He had read her book two months previous when the team was taken off rotation because Ziva had to retake driving lessons. He had trouble putting the book down, earning it a place next to his beloved typewriter instead of on his shelf. Tim was quick to accept her hand and shake it.

"Thom E. Gemcity. I've read your book. Couldn't put it down. I think my boss even had to yell at me once or twice to do so." Tim smiled, enjoying the turnabout and making her blush instead. He could suddenly see why Gibbs was so attracted to red heads.

"Th...thank you. I've read your book as well. My old boss recommended it when he retired." She took a sip of her drink. "He has good taste in novels."

A sudden explosion of clapping made them both jump. Fisherman finished his speech without either of them noticing. Clearing her throat, Lynn took another sip.

"I see you're just as good as I am at picking nom de plumes. Or did your publisher pick yours?"

"I picked it. Though, I admit I've had it a while." Tim looked around when people started to get up and mingle. A break must have been called. "How are you liking the convention so far?"

"It's significantly less enjoyable when you aren't old enough to partake in the open bar. People tend to think you don't belong." A sour look appeared on her face as Tim looked at her in shock. He had guessed she was young but not that young. Her outfit made her look like she was in her mid-20s.

"How..."

"I'm 18." Lynn quickly interrupted before Tim could finish his question. "19 in a few months."

Tim looked her up and down again, still not seeing such a young age in her. Lynn shifted uncomfortably under his eyesight, looking down in a sudden drop of confidence. "Look, I understand if you feel odd with interacting with someone as young as me. As a psychologist, I know. People..."

"I'm fine with it." Tim quickly blurted out before Lynn could get on a roll. "You wouldn't be here if you were some immature little twit."

Lynn opened her mouth to say something but shut it quickly when a group of what appeared to be college students walked too close to the table. In the semi-formal setting of the convention, their college student sense of fashion made them stick out like a sore thumb. Lynn sighed in irritation when they stopped walking to just stand and chat, their excited conversation of being allowed to attend the convention to cover it for their school paper filling the air around Tim and Lynn. Tim frowned at them when it became clear that Lynn wasn't going to speak with possible eavesdroppers so close by. Given their sudden change in topic discussion, he guessed she had been burned quite a few times at events like this because of her age.

"Why don't we head to the eatery here in the conference center? The next presentation is more for aspiring writers, not published authors. I think sitting through 90 minutes of review would make even Fisherman sound interesting." As soon as the suggestion completely left Tim's mouth, Lynn was standing up. A torn expression on her face showed she was having second thoughts, debating whether to go ahead with Tim's idea or to run for it. Tim was saddened by the fact that it took one simple question from him to turn the mischievous commenter who greeted him randomly into a skittish rabbit. Tim could already tell Lynn was by far one of the most intriguing people he's met at a convention. "Don't worry. It's not like I'm the reincarnation of Jack the Ripper or something."

"God, I hope not." Relaxing slightly at his attempt to joke, Lynn pushed her chair in and walked around the table to join Tim as he stood up himself. He couldn't prevent an amused snort when she stopped next to him. "What?"

"Nothing." He looked down at her with amusement clear on his face. Even in her high heels, Lynn was still at least half a foot shorter than he was. She must have realized what he was thinking about because her eyes thinned out.

"Well, Mr. Law Enforcement, let's go. This was your idea." Raising an eyebrow at the nickname, Tim made a show of waving for her to go first, prompting an eye roll. He followed her closely so as to not lose her in the crowd, opening the door for her and quietly leading her in the direction of the eatery.


	2. Defense and a Dinner

Salads were set down in front of Lynn and Tim with a thank you from both. Tim had carefully kept discussion to small talk about bullshit things like music preferences, which he very well knew Lynn had noticed, but felt like it was time to get back to the topic that was causing the tension in the air.

"Doctorate at 18. Your parents must be proud." Lynn's fork froze on the way to her mouth. Sighing, she set it back on her plate.

"16. And yes, they are very proud. I come from an average middle class family. My father is a CPA and my mother is a nurse for my hometown's emergency room. I'm an only child, so they've put all their focus on me when I was younger. They've always wanted the best for me. When I won my full scholarship, they told anyone who would listen that their baby was going to be a doctor." Tim nodded, chewing carefully before swallowing.

"Impressive. I was only just entering MIT when I was 16." One of Lynn's eyebrows rose towards her hair line.

"And you are?"

"31." Lynn's other eyebrow went up to join its partner.

"I pictured you younger."

"I get that a lot." Tim shoved a forkful of salad in his mouth as Lynn thought over his flippant attitude. He was surprised about it, himself, since it reminded him of Tony but the anonymity of the situation seemed to provoke it. Tony would be proud.

"You really don't care that I'm so young in comparison to everyone else here, including yourself?" Finally, the exact question Tim was waiting for.

"Intelligence and maturity are funny things, I've found. Age rarely defines them, despite what society thinks. People tend to forget that." Lynn smiled softly.

"Yes. Yes, they do." She whispered, looking down at her plate. Lynn picked her fork back up to continue eating, missing the slightly mischievous look that appeared on Tim's face. "More often than not, they do."

"Which is shocking. If I had a beautiful young woman such as yourself wanting to talk my ear off, I'd hang on every word. Surely some intelligent conversation isn't too much for you to ask for." Lynn started choking on the crouton she was chewing, coughing harshly.

"I'm...I'm not..."

"You're not what?" Lynn snatched her glass of water off the table as Tim looked at her with pseudo confusion. After a few gulps of water to clear her throat, Lynn glared across the table at Tim.

"You say that like I'm some sort of super model or something, requiring men to prostrate at my feet."

"You don't seem the superficial type, Lynn." Tim smirked as a red tinge appeared on her face again, only in anger this time. He was amused to note that her blush spread to also cover her neck and upper chest when she was angry. A fleeting thought told Tim he shouldn't still be channeling his inner Tony, but the momentum of the conversation made him ignore it. "You said it, not me."

"That's just hilarious." Lynn snapped sarcastically as Tim broke down and openly laughed.

"Lynn, you're acting like being called beautiful is an insult or that I'm lying. I'm not going either." A wide grin stayed on Tim's face as Lynn rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm sorry but you have got to be the first guy I've met who openly puts looks and intelligence at equal importance. It's made our small amount of discussion so far a bit strange."

"What, you expect me to try and bed you as soon as possible?" Lynn snorted.

"Or go running in the opposite direction. Not many men can handle it when they meet a woman who is smarter than them in something, even if it's something trivial." Tim frowned, suddenly feeling guilty about letting himself slightly act like Tony. It probably threw her off track since Tony's mannerisms tended to be more suited for vapid airheads than truly intelligent women.

"I respect you too much as a woman to do the first. As a scientist, I don't have much problem with the second."

"I'm starting to realize that, Thom." A pause dragged out as they each took a bite of salad at the same time. With the only apparent touchy subjects out of the way, anything was fair game to talk about. Tim considered asking her another question when Lynn beat him to the punch. "Look, I'm sorry about the hostility when my age came up. It's just so hard to react differently when I rarely get treated as an equal by my peers. The scientific world is surprisingly still rather sexist."

"Don't worry about it. Your reaction has told me that you're worth it to anyone who manages to wait through it. Worthwhile people are rarely met the easy way, in my experience." Tim smiled at her, getting a small smile in return as the waitress came to the table.

"Everything tasting ok?" Tim and Lynn turned their smiles towards the woman, nodding. "Great! Well, your dinners should be out shortly. May I interest either of you in one of our house wines?"

"Sure." Tim nodded again as Lynn's face blanched.

"And you?" The waitress turned to Lynn in inquiry. Lynn shook her head.

"I can't. Not old enough."

"Oh!" The woman laughed awkwardly. "I apologize. We don't get many people under the age 25 here at the center. You two here for the writer's convention?"

"Yes, we are." Lynn answered as Tim looked on bemusedly. "We're taking a break since the current presentation is of little use to us. We're already published."

"That's excellent. Those of you who are already published tend to set the mood for everyone else. We don't advertise it but our head manager sets aside an amount of a specialty drink for you guys each year. Would you like some of that instead?" The waitress pulled her notepad out.

"Umm..." Lynn glanced at Tim. "Sure. What is it, exactly?"

"A non-alcoholic berry nectar. Our head chef created it to serve to minors when we host weddings." Lynn nodded enthusiastically.

"That sounds great! Yes, I'd love some of that." Tim chuckled as he glanced over the wine list kept on the table. The investigator in him made note of Lynn's attraction to berries. Setting the list aside, Tim looked up at the waitress.

"I'll have a glass of Merlot, please." The woman nodded, quickly writing out their drink choices on her pad.

"Excellent. I will get those out as soon as possible. Just let me take your plates and go check on your dinners again." Pocketing her pad, the waitress leaned forward to pick up their now empty salad plates. Smiling at Tim and Lynn again, she spun on her heel and headed in the direction of the kitchen.

"Quick save there." Tim commented, making Lynn give him a strange look. "Her changing your focus from her blunder with assuming your age to the convention. Unhappy customers aren't good for tips."

"How very observant of you, Thom." Lynn smirked. "I hadn't taken you for a cynic."

"I'm observant because it's my job. And you're not being a cynic if you're telling the truth. The convention isn't the only event here this week. The staff must be at wit's end with everyone."

"That's assuming the center isn't paying them extra to work multiple events." Tim nodded in agreement.

"True. The center is popular enough that they'd consider compensating their employees during busy periods." Tim leaned forward on his arms in a stage whisper. "Still doesn't take away from the fact that waiters at places like this sometimes tend to feel entitled to an automatic tip, regardless of their job quality."

Lynn burst into laughter, gaining the attention of the people at a few nearby tables. They all shook their heads in mild amusement at the sight of Lynn laughing while Tim chuckled and leaned back in his seat. A large grin remained on Lynn's face as she calmed down.

"Not a cynic, then. A realist. You are a very unique person, Thom E. Gemcity."

"Tim." Tim blurted out before he realized what he was doing. When what he said registered in his head, he found he oddly didn't regret throwing anonymity out the window. "My real name is Timothy McGee."

If Lynn was surprised at his sudden confession, she didn't show it. She just slowly shook her head as she continued to smile at him.

"Well, then I stand corrected. You are a very unique and _surprising_ person, Timothy McGee." Lynn's eyes continued to smile at him over her glass as she took a sip of water. "Dr. Evelyn Brant. My coworkers like to call me Debbie."

"Because of your initials."

"Yep." Evelyn slowly set her glass down. "A few even go as far as to call me Little Debbie since I'm such a slender person and I absolutely abhor those processed snack cakes made by the company 'Little Debbie'.

"Evelyn." Tim tested out. "I love that name. It rolls off the tongue so nicely. Suits you."

"Thank you." Evelyn's smile at his comment suddenly turned into a smirk, making Tim wary. "Thom E. Gemcity. Timothy McGee. Your nom de plume is an anagram of your name."

Tim nodded, impressed. That hadn't taken her long to figure out.

"It is. Something I came up with in high school. A teacher asked a class I was in to think up a fake name to use for a project. They were going to be judged at a local fair and she didn't want to risk any of the judges showing favoritism." Tim looked at Evelyn in contemplation for a few seconds. "It's easy to see that Lynn comes from Evelyn. Where did you get Price from?"

"My mother's maiden name is Cost. I wanted to do something to honor her without letting the readers know exactly how. Gives me the ability to honestly tell interviewers her first name without worry. They have no reason to speak with my parents so I'm not going to give them any help if they want to take the chance in looking for my parents on their own.' Tim nodded in understanding. Ever since he let slip that he had a younger sister, various interviewers have been hounding him to let them talk to Sarah. Tim wasn't about to let that happen, lest they cross a line in the process of searching for dirt on him.

"At least our somewhat corny aliases actually mean something to us and weren't picked at random by our publishers." Evelyn snorted in agreement as she took another drink of water.

"Too true." The waitress suddenly reappeared as Evelyn set her glass down.

"Alright! Dinner's ready..." She set Tim's plate in front of him quickly since it was the heaviest plate on her carrier tray, placing his glass of wine lightly next to his water before focusing on giving Evelyn her food. "The chef offers his apologies, miss. Our stock of tilapia ran out faster than expected. He replaced it with a new fish we have on the menu called Swai, if that's alright with you."

Evelyn looked over her plate as the waitress set it in front of her. It didn't look much different than the tilapia she ordered.

"It's alright. This looks fine." Evelyn looked up as her drink was set down.

"Ok. I'll let him know. Here's your sparkling drink. Its proper name is Berry Ambrosia. You'll get a comment card with your dessert asking for your thoughts on it."

"Thank you." Evelyn smiled at the waitress. The woman nodded and walked off to take care of another table.

"Did she say it was called Swai?" Tim looked at Evelyn's plate as he drizzled sauce on his steak. Evelyn poked the fish with her fork before scooping up some of her wild rice.

"That's what she said. I've heard of it before but this is the first time I've had it."

"Let me know what you think of it. If it's any good, I'll buy some the next time I go grocery shopping to try it myself." Evelyn nodded, in the middle of chewing. "So, time for the big question. Why'd you start writing?"

"That's a big question?" Tim smirked around his fork as he ate a bit of cauliflower. "I would say the creative element to it is what attracted me. I hate monotony and my mind would always wander when I had nothing to do. " Tim nodded in understanding, swallowing before opening his mouth.

"You have one work published. Working on anything else?"

"Yes. Its sequel. My publisher is also trying to get me to agree to a co-write with some other author, who it is I don't know since she won't tell me, but I prefer to work on only one original work at a time." Time perked up at her terminology.

"So you write 'unoriginal' stories?" Tim let out a laugh as Evelyn gave him a sheepish look.

"I'm a fanfiction writer. Guilty as charged. I can't help it. It's so fun. Not to mention it's an excellent way to relax." Evelyn shoved a hunk of fish in her mouth as Tim continued to laugh.

"Anything I'd know?" Evelyn suddenly froze like a deer caught in headlights, her face going bright red in embarrassment. Tim's laughter slowed down as he took in her expression, something clicking in his head. "Wait, wait, wait. You've written 'Deep Six' fanfiction?"

Tim's laughter came back full force as Evelyn's face heated up further, nearing the color of her hair.

"Timothy, it's not that funny!" Evelyn snapped. Tim wiped his face clean of the tears that had begun to slip down his cheeks.

"Yes. Yes, it is. Oh, my god. That...that just made this entire trip worth it. I know people write 'Deep Six' fanfiction but I never thought I've meet one of them!" Evelyn ripped a small piece of bread from a slice in their bread basket and threw it at him.

"Ok, so I maintain a few aspects associated with most teenagers. So sue me." Tim forced himself to calm down to a chuckle, taking deep breaths. He took a sip of his wine before attempting to speak again.

"I'm sorry. My coworker, the one I partly based Tommy off of, is always poking fun at me for getting published without telling any of them at first. He even reads the fanfiction. Not for the entertainment value but to quote them at me during work." Evelyn's blush went away bit by bit as Tim explained why he found her hobby so hilarious. Biting her lip, she slowly gave Tim a sly smile.

"Would your publisher get mad if you read any?"

"Legally, I'm not supported to until 'Rock Hollow' gets published since I won't be writing any more of the series after that. It helps in covering me in case someone tries to claim I stole their idea. Why?" Tim's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.

"If I gave you written permission to go ahead and use any ideas you may come across, would you read my 'Deep Six' fanfiction?" The innocent look on Evelyn's face made Tim's stomach do flip flops. Unsure of why he had such a strong reaction to Evelyn's expression since he's been looking at her face for half an hour now, Tim cleared his throat before answering.

"Why do I have a feeling that I should be iffy about your reasoning for that question?" Evelyn continued the innocent act, smiling sweetly before taking another bite of fish.

"When I'm writing fanfiction with a lot of action in it, Tommy is my go-to character when I need one of them to act as a human punching bag." She stated simply. Tim's eyes widened in shock.

"Wha...really?" Evelyn dropped the act and smirked at Tim mischievously.

"You wouldn't believe the torture I've made Tommy endure. A real person would pretty much be guaranteed to get PSTD." Tim inhaled sharply, leaning back in his chair. Evelyn was offering a way to get back at Tony on a silver platter. It was certainly tempting.

"I'll have to think about it." Evelyn snorted in amusement at Tim's torn reaction.

"Any other questions or can I turn this interrogation around on your for a little bit? Turn it into a game of 20 Questions or the like." Time took another drink of his wine, swirling it around with a twist of his wrist.

"Sure." He brought his right wrist up to look at his watch. They had 55 minutes until the end of the current presentation. "I think we can make dinner last for another hour."


	3. CoWorker Relations

Tim's face went slightly pink as Evelyn held her stomach in heavy laughter.

"R...really?" Tim nodded at her question with a small sigh of resignation.

"Yes. Tony got a kick out of it. But let me tell you, Kate could have qualified as a nun if ear pinching was the only requirement they had. My ear was sore for a few days after that. Let's just say I made sure to tell her ahead of time whenever I was going to be working on her network cables again." Tim rubbed his left ear lightly as he remembered Kate's grip on it. Seeing the melancholy look on Tim's face, Evelyn calmed down and gave him an understanding smile.

"I'm sure Kate was a great friend, Timothy. It's good that moments like that are how you remember her."

"Yeah. She was one of the best." Looking down at his now empty dessert plate briefly, Tim let out a determined breath. "Next question. Favorite movie genre?"

"Science fiction." Evelyn answered quickly. When Tim raised an eyebrow, she gave him a awkward look. "I'm a geek, through and through. Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, the works. I'm even in the process of getting a second doctorate. In Computer Forensics this time. I should have it by the time I'm 21."

"Don't be embarrassed." Tim grinned. "You know I went to MIT. I'm a fellow geek. McGeek is a common nickname for me at work."

"Doesn't that get irritating after a while?" Evelyn's face quickly went from awkward to curious, as Tim had aimed for.

"When I first started it was irritating, yes. But once my confidence levels grew and I became closer with my team, I started to give as much as I got. Now it's more annoying in a 'my big brother is bothering me' sense. I finally understand what my little sister went through when we were younger." Tim gave Evelyn a mischievous look as her eyebrows rose in amusement.

"The truth is revealed! Mr. Timothy McGee isn't as innocent as he claims."

"I never claimed to be innocent of anything. I was a hellion, like everyone else. I just happened to be good at covering my ass." Evelyn let out a girlish giggle that got Tim to let out a few chuckles. "That, and it helped that I was a bit baby faced as a teenager. Acting innocent is so much easier when you literally look it."

"And you took full advantage of it, didn't you?"

"Hell yes, I did." They both started laughing at Tim's adamant agreement. Their attention was suddenly torn away from each other when their waitress appeared next to their table.

"Glad to see you both enjoying yourselves! I have your check right here, if you're ready." Tim nodded through his laughter, taking it from the woman before Evelyn had the chance to look at it herself while pointedly ignoring the sudden pout that appeared on the young woman's face. "I'll be back in a minute, then, while you look that over. Call for me if you need anything before then."

"Timothy..." Evelyn started as the waitress walked away.

"Don't, Evelyn." Tim double checked the prices on the receipt, pulling out his wallet in the process. "A gentleman doesn't let a lady pay for her meal."

"I'm hardly a lady. Hand it over." Evelyn stuck her hand out expectantly. Tim glanced up at her for a second as he tucked his Visa into the check envelope and closed it. "Timothy, I'm serious."

"As am I." He finally turned his full attention back to Evelyn after setting the check next to his elbow. "I'm not letting you pay a penny."

Gray eyes thinned out in determination as green ones looked back in slight amusement.

"You are infuriating." Tim held back a smirk at Evelyn's comment.

"I believe the proper term is chivalrous."

"You were the one claiming support for modernism the past hour."

"That doesn't mean old fashioned manners should be thrown out the window." Evelyn huffed out a sigh and sat back in her chair as she realized her argument was lost with that single statement. Tim wasn't going to let her get anywhere near the check.

"Has anyone ever pointed out how stubborn you can be, Timothy?" He shrugged.

"Compared to my coworkers I'm a doormat, so not really. Admittedly, though, we're all stubborn about different things so they might not have noticed it. Computers are my forte, not theirs, putting me into many situations where they don't understand a single thing that's going on." Evelyn's face scrunched up at Tim's explanation but was interrupted by the return of the waitress. She remained silent as the check was given back to be paid and the waitress headed to the register. Tim quirked an eyebrow at the expression on Evelyn's face. "What?"

"So your coworkers don't understand basically anything that you do at work?"

"I didn't say that." Tim quickly corrected. "I said they don't understand computers. And I don't mind that I'm the only one on the team who knows how to collect our digital evidence."

"Really?" Evelyn asked in disbelief. Tim nodded.

"My team mates each have their own talents that balance everything out. Tony, for example, has street smarts that the rest of us don't have experience with. Gives him the advantage of knowing how to make himself seem unassuming to any possible suspects. Ziva has a keen eye for the small details, as well as a sharp memory. She can remember and point out things from a scene that was of little meaning the first time around. My boss is basically a human lie detector and can read a situation like no other. No one is stupid enough to give him the run around. At least, no one who knows better."

"If that's the case then I can understand why you don't mind doing all the computer work. It's your comfort zone."

"Kinda." Tim grinned. "Though I am getting pretty good in the interrogation room."

A groan came across the table, making Tim's grin grow bigger. But it dropped quickly when he glanced at his watch and had to do a double take.

"Crap, we gotta go." He looked up to see if the waitress was on her way back to return his credit card.

"We do? What time is it?" Evelyn sat up straighter in her seat at Tim's worried tone.

"The next presentation starts in five minutes and..."

"And the two of us are being introduced at the beginning of it." Evelyn quickly finished as she turned to look for the waitress as well. Thankfully the woman was on her way back to their table.

"Here you go, sir. I hope the two of you had an excellent meal and have a good rest of the night. Go ahead and leave our copy of the receipt on the table." The waitress handed the envelope holding the final receipt and Tim's Visa over with a smile.

"Thank you." Tim quickly opened the flap to sign the restaurant's copy of the bill and fill out the tip amount as the waitress left to take care of other customers. Evelyn stood up, pushing her chair in behind her. Tim joined her after slipping his card back into his wallet. Smiling, Tim motioned for Evelyn to go towards the door first again. "Alright. Let's go sacrifice ourselves and hope they don't do too much damage to us."

Laughing, Evelyn rolled her eyes as they hurried back to the main ball room.


	4. Clashing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a tiny, itty bitty Bones cross over in this chapter and a few following chapters, but it's not a permanent cross over. Just a logical one considering that both shows happen in DC and where I have Evelyn working.

Tim grabbed for Evelyn's elbow as she stumbled in taking her heels off.

"God, now I remember why I don't wear these that often." She groaned, stumbling again as she righted herself to walk flat on her feet.

"Couldn't wait until you were in your room?" Tim asked in some amusement as he looked down at her. Evelyn's 5'7 height had dropped to 5'4 after she took her shoes off. Tim briefly wondered how she was able to walk as fast as she did in them. Even with his longer strides, he had felt like he needed to speed up to keep up a few times that night.

"No. These suckers hurt a hell of a lot more than my usual heels that I wear. Walking without them on will help my feet feel better." Evelyn held the high heel shoes up for emphasis, shaking them slightly. They made a slight dinging noise as they bumped into the various items Evelyn had in her clutch connected to her left wrist. "It is a creed most women follow. With beauty comes pain."

"You're more than beautiful enough. Stop hurting yourself." Evelyn's face went slightly pink at Tim's comment. In the handful of hours it had been since she had first greeted him at his table in the ball room, Tim had complimented her many times. Each time still pulled a blush out of her.

"Well, I...I've been considering buying some dress flats. I just can't find any decent ones whenever I go shoe shopping. For being our nation's capitol, D.C. doesn't seem to have that much of a selection. Maybe it's just me."

"I'm sure you'll find a pair you like." Tim smiled, dropping his hand from Evelyn's elbow. She smiled in response, linking her arm around his.

"I don't know about you, Tim, but I am ready to go home. I've made my appearance, meddled with the wannabe-published, and I'm exhausted."

"Oh, yes. Being asked for advice on how to get published is tiring. Almost made me want for Tony to be here." Evelyn burst out laughing.

"Definitely understand what you mean." She leaned her head on Tim's arm just as they approached her hotel room. "Here's me. Thanks for being such entertaining company tonight. I probably would have just made my appearance and then ditched. 'X-men Origins: Wolverine' has been calling my name and the local movie theater has it."

"You're welcome. And I return the sentiment. I was considering pulling out my laptop to get a head start on some paperwork. If paperwork is the preferable option then all is lost..." Tim said with a shake of his head. Both of them started laughing at the mere thought of _wanting_ to do paperwork. Evelyn pulled her arm out from around Tim's, opening her clutch to pull out her room key. Pausing slightly, Evelyn diverted her attention from her key and pulled out the small notebook and pen she kept in there. Scrawling out two ten digit numbers and an email address on an empty page, Evelyn ripped the sheet out and handed it over to Tim.

"Cell, work, and personal email." She explained with a smile as Tim took the paper from her, glancing at it before folding it and slipping it into the inside pocket of his suit. "My cell is a 24-hour number, but it would be best if you stick to office hours if you call work. The night time switchboard operator at the Jeffersonian is a challenge and a half. She doesn't understand the concept of actually working at 2 am."

"Noted." Tim smirked, commandeering Evelyn's notebook to write out his own information. "If you call work, be warned that Tony is known to answer my phone if I'm not at my desk. If he picks up, ramble on about something geeky and it'll throw him off."

Tim handed Evelyn her notebook back with a smile that matched hers.

"I'll be sure to do that..." Evelyn commented quietly, slipping her notebook and pen bag into her clutch and finally removing her key. "Thank you for escorting me back to my room, Tim."

"I was delighted to. Have a good night, Evelyn, and drive home safe tomorrow. We're due for a nasty rainstorm tomorrow."

"I will." Evelyn looked at odds about something before she quickly jumped up onto her toes, being forced to pull Tim down by his shirt the rest of the way to kiss him on the cheek. "Good night."

Making quick work of opening her door and entering, Evelyn gave Tim one last meek smile before closing it behind her. Frozen in his spot for a few moments, Tim's brain slowly digested everything that had happened that night with Evelyn before he chuckled slightly and headed off to his own room.

* * *

**Seven Weeks Later**

"Catwoman or Poison Ivy?" Tim sent across the Bull Pen to Tony, twirling a pen in his hand. No case, no paperwork to catch up on, and lots of time on their hands. The Gibblets were all bored while the Bossman was off doing who-knows-what.

"Catwoman, without a doubt. 1992, 'Batman Returns' with Michelle Pfeiffer. Oooo, _baby_." Tony answered enthusiastically. Tim rolled his eyes along with Ziva, shaking his head. Seeing this, Tony turn an inquiring eye on Tim before coming up with his own question.

"Poison Ivy or Harley Quinn?" Tim inhaled sharply, thinking over his choices. Ivy and Harley were always his two favorite female villains in the Batman Universe.

"I gotta go with Poison Ivy." Tim finally decided, tossing his pen onto his desk. Tony looked at him with mild shock. The Joker was Tim's all-time favorite Batman villain. Tony knew that. He thought Tim would pick Harley Quinn, keeping the couple together.

"Why?" Tony finally breathed out.

"You mean why, other than the fact that I'm a healthy, red-blooded male and I've _seen_ Uma Thurman in her Poison Ivy outfit?" Tim smirked as Ziva let out a groan when he sank to Tony's level. "Ivy has this allure to her. That...untouchable vibe that makes her all the more tempting. Bonus points to the fact that, out of the two, Ivy is the one that has any sort of actual powers."

Tony nodded in concession, understanding Tim's logic.

"Yeah, the actual powers thing does help." Tim snorted, knowing that wasn't what Tony was really thinking about. Taking some time to come up with another either/or question, Tim opened his mouth to ask it when the back elevator dinged as it opened and unleashed a caffeine-high Goth into the Bull Pen.

"Ok, this is the Bull Pen! This is where the team does all their team workings before they go out and catch the bad guys." Tim exchanged bemused expressions with Tony and Ziva as Abby's hyper-excited voice reached their ears before she appeared. Any confusion on their part was explained when a laugh that definitely didn't belong to Abby echoed after Abby's introduction of the room.

"As excited as I am to get a tour of the NCIS building, Miss Sciuto, perhaps we could reschedule? After I set up the programs to go along with the equipment you requested I need to head back to the Jeffersonian." Tim froze, recognizing the voice. Evelyn. He had IMed with her just that morning. Why didn't she mention that she was coming to the Navy Yard?

"Oh, ok! Well, we can talk about that later. The Bossman's computer is right over here. You should set up his computer first. It'll be the quickest." The tall Goth appeared in their sights, the extra height from her black boots making her look all the much taller next to the short young woman who walked beside her in rather demure looking, white stiletto pumps.

Evelyn didn't see Tim as she sat at the chair Abby indicated and started interacting with Gibbs' computer, both Abby and the computers inadvertently blocking him from the corner of her eyesight. Ignoring the exchanged looks between Tony and Ziva, Tim took advantage of the moment to look Evelyn over and mentally compare her to the image he got when he first met her, just as he had done the handful of times he had met up with her in person since the convention.

She looked very professional looking with her shoulder-length hair pulled back in a short ponytail, no jewelry save her class ring, and just enough make up to highlight her eyes. Her glasses were a surprise the first time he saw her wear them, she hadn't at the convention, but Tim had to admit to himself that Evelyn looked every bit the young psychologist in her white button up and black pencil skirt. _Not quite_ , Tim corrected himself when he noted that Evelyn had rolled her sleeves up at some point. Probably when she was downstairs setting up whatever equipment Abby had requested.

"Alright, you are going to be able to explain how this all works to your boss, right Miss Sciuto?" Evelyn asked as she inserted a CD into the drive of Gibbs' computer. An aborted snort came from Tony's direction as Abby went along with the questioning.

"As well as I possibly can to the best of his learning abilities." Evelyn paused at the awkward wording of Abby's answer before shaking her head and returning to installing the program. Even she knew that the answer she was given meant Gibbs would most likely not understand a single word Abby would say to him.

"Very well. I'll set up his version of the program to its most simplistic, user-friendly settings. He can access it right from the desk top and will have icon menus instead of the customary lists. That version was designed so that even a small child could use the system. If he has trouble then there is nothing more I can do." Evelyn attacked the keyboard with a flurry of typing, not taking her eyes off the screen.

"Abby, just what is being put on our computers?" Ziva ventured to ask. Abby grinned, placing a hip on Gibbs' desk and leaning against it.

"I got permission from Leon to set up a mini mainframe in my lab, designed to solely hold records of anything related to the work of the MCRT. The NCIS mainframe will still hold the official copies of any reports you guys type up but this will be for our own reference on the off chance we need to look them over in any future cases. Dr. Brant here is installing the program on your computers that'll allow you guys access to it." The three agents looked suitably impressed, for various reasons.

"Yes, that would be very helpful. An idea used in a previous case may very well help us solve a future one." Ziva stated. "But why have this program installed? Are our computers not already connected to your own?"

"Yes and no." Abby laughed, clearly loving her new 'baby'. "The main frame will be accessed through my computers, yes. But it's security locked so it can't be accessed without this specific program. Even my own computers had to have it installed."

Tim's eyebrows rose up in approval, glancing at Evelyn again as she worked.

"That's pretty nifty, Abby." Tony finally spoke up. "Are we going to have to save files manually onto this thing?"

"Nope!" Evelyn answered before Abby could open her mouth. "The program I am installing on your computers automatically copies any saved files on your computer to the MCRT mainframe. Just work like normal."

"Well, that's...good." Tony said, slightly confused. He had no idea how that all worked but since Abby or Tim weren't commenting he didn't worry.

"And I'm done! Who's computer am I working on next?" Evelyn removed the CD from Gibbs' computer and stood up, looking to Abby for directions. Tim leaned back in his chair and smirked slightly when Evelyn finally noticed him, snorting when she let out a squeal that rivaled the ones Abby could let out and rushed around the desks the hug him. He hugged her back with a laugh, fully aware of the shocked looks he was getting from his three coworkers.

"Oh, my god! Timothy, I know you told me you worked here at NCIS but you didn't tell me it was as a member of the MCRT! If I knew I was going to see you during my visit here today I would have asked you to meet me down in Miss Sciuto's lab as I set up the new mainframe. I could have explained it all as I set it up instead of just doing it." Evelyn gave Tim a grin, leaning back on her heels as she pulled away. "Why didn't you say anything when I first came in?"

"And miss out on watching you work on a computer? I had to make sure you could prove your worth, what with being a Caltech grad and all." Tim supplied with a snicker, letting Evelyn know he was joking about it. Evelyn rolled her eyes with an amused sigh.

"Well, sorry for preferring California over Massachusetts, Mr. MIT. Now move. You have volunteered your computer to be the next one set up." Evelyn shooed Tim from his seat, sitting down and quickly inserting the CD into the drive. "Do you need the user-friendly interface as well, Timothy?

Tim crossed his arms as he looked down at her pseudo-innocent face, raising an eyebrow. Evelyn turned back to his computer at his look, struggling not to laugh out loud.

"Expert interface it is. You'll be able to personalize it to your own preferences." A giggle escaped Evelyn's mouth as Tim snorted. He shook his head, opening his desk drawer to pull his wallet out.

"Since you have commandeered my computer, therefore taking away my ability to do any work, I am going to make a run to the vending machines. Does the lady have any requests?" Tim asked in a slightly mocking tone, similar to the one she had just used on him. Evelyn shook her head.

"After I return the carrying cases I used for the mainframe I'm off to a working lunch. The team in the Medico-legal lab has requested my assistance in the case they're working on for the FBI and the agent liaison for the Jeffersonian would like me caught up on the details as soon as possible. Between my Masters in Computer Science and my Doctorate in Forensic Psychology, I'm apparently going to be very helpful."

"Sounds like a heavy work load. What about your regular job at the Jeffersonian?" Tim asked, furrowing his brow. Evelyn shrugged, not looking up.

"Dr. Saroyan put in a request to have me pulled from my department for their case, so I'm guessing my regular work load is being redistributed amongst the others as we speak." Tim nodded in understanding. The same thing had happened at Norfolk the few times Gibbs had 'asked' him to TAD for the team before formally requesting his transfer to the Navy Yard. "Look, it's going to take me a great deal longer to set up your computer since I'm setting up the full, personalize-able version of the program. Go ahead and take your time making your ' _Nutterbutter Run_ '."

"Funny." Tim snorted at Evelyn's teasing. Her small laugh in response said she thought it was. Rolling his eyes, Tim turned away from his desk to come face-to-face with with the various looks the others in the Bull Pen were giving him.

Immediately, he knew he preferred Ziva over Tony or Abby. She simply looked at him in question, wondering how he knew their guest. Tony looked at him in open amazement, mouth slightly open and eyes a tad bit wider than normal. It was a look that guaranteed that Tim was going to feel like he was in an interrogation when Tony regained the ability to speak. But the look on Abby's face made him feel like cowering back in fear. A mix of emotions, something between anger, disbelief, and the hint of something Tim didn't quite know, all fighting to be the dominant expression. The combination of the first two Tim had only seen on Abby's face once before. When they discovered that one Charles 'Chip' Sterling had framed Tony for murder. The last emotion he couldn't identify and Tim actually wished that Gibbs would make one of his mysterious appearances. After a few heavy moments, Tim realized he wasn't that lucky. Inhaling sharply, he forced a smile on his face and focused on Ziva.

"Ziva, would you come to the machines with me? You mentioned earlier this morning that you discovered a new running path in one of the parks this past weekend." Ziva pursed her lips in recognition of Tim's avoidance of dealing with Tony and Abby, seeing as how she had already told him about the trail, but she went along with it.

"Sure, McGee. I am thinking about getting a small snack, myself. Perhaps some pretzels to keep my hunger away until lunch time." Nodding, Tim motioned for her to head off first without bothering to pause for her to grab her own money. Allowing a small smile to appear on her face, Ziva shook her head and started off in the direction of the break area.


	5. Ziva and Tony

Ziva sat at one of the tables in the break area as Tim stood in front of the vending machine.

"So, McGee, you know Dr. Brant." Tim nodded, inserting a couple dollar bills and punching in the code for pretzels. "Care to share how you met her? You two seem very comfortable with each other. I take it you have known her for some time?"

"I actually met her at the author's convention I attended at the beginning of last month." Tim tossed the pretzels to Ziva before turning back to get something for himself. "Both of us were bored out of our minds during one of the presentations, so we temporarily ditched to get some dinner. We only returned because we were required to attend the awarding of a publishing contract to one of the upcoming authors. Spent the rest of the night running a mock commentary to each other of the various speeches and presentations."

"Sounds like you two had a lot of fun." Ziva popped a pretzel into her mouth as Tim joined her at the table with his expected Nutter Butters.

"We did. It was way better than the alternative, for sure. I would have just done some paperwork on my laptop and Evelyn said she was considering ditching, entirely, after awarding the publishing contract." Tim tore open the package of Nutter Butters, dumping them on the table. "Instead, we had a fun time with good company. There aren't many people I can, as Tony would say, go full-out geek with so that was a plus."

"So, are you two...?" Ziva trailed off.

"No, we're not dating." Tim stated simply. It far from actually explained the relationship between him and Evelyn, because he was sure that the others had seen the latent flirting they had done, but he wouldn't use the term 'dating' to describe it. _Not yet_ , his subconscious called out but he wasn't about to acknowledge that at the moment. "We have a friendship that just...clicks. Like Tony and Palmer's friendship."

"Yes, Tony and Palmer being friends is a bit unexpected even though it makes a weird sort of sense." Ziva responded with a nod.

"Exactly!" Tim nodded back, taking a bite of one of his cookies.

"Well, I am happy that you are still making friends outside of the Navy Yard. The rest of us should only be so lucky. I cannot remember the last time I spoke with a friend that was not somehow connected with work." Ziva said with a wave of her hand, pulling a laugh from Tim. "And I understand you not mentioning her before. Tony is going to eat you out about her, for sure."

"Ziva..." Tim went bright pink, confusing his Israeli friend. "It's 'chew me out'. Tony will 'chew me out' about Evelyn. What you said is...never mind."

"Oh. _Chew_ you out, then." Ziva corrected with some hesitancy, not understanding why Tim blushed at her mix-up.

"Yeah, he will." Tim pushed on, thinking it best not to explain his reaction to Ziva at the moment. "I will not hear the end of this. Ever. Though, I personally hope he says something in front of Evelyn."

"Why?"

"Evelyn writes 'Deep Six' fanfiction." Tim supplied with a smirk, knowing Ziva knew what that was from all the times Tony spoke about it to irritate him. "And she uses Tommy as her go-to character when she needs a human punching bag."

Ziva threw her head back as she exploded in laughter.

"That is just perfect, McGee! If Dr. Brant does not say anything, herself, you should. That will make him shut up."

"I'll consider it..." Tim snorted, looking at his watch. He sighed heavily. "I've stalled long enough. We should head back to the Bull Pen."

"Very well. Thank you for the pretzels." Tim waved off Ziva's thanks as they stood up.

"Forget about it." Picking up his last cookie, Tim trashed the wrapper before they headed back to the Bull Pen. And Tony and Abby.

"And you just click here if you want to save it onto just the MCRT mainframe!" Evelyn said enthusiastically. Tim and Ziva exchanged glances when they saw that Gibbs had reappeared when they were gone and Evelyn was now attempting to explain the mainframe interface on his computer.

"What if I want something specific? Like, say, DiNozzo's last performance review." Gibbs sent a look in Tony's direction, who returned it with an innocent expression. Abby sat at Ziva's desk, pointedly not looking in Tim's direction when he and Ziva entered the main area.

"See this bar right here?" Evelyn pointed to something on Gibbs' screen. Gibbs nodded, oddly paying attention to what Evelyn was saying to him. The theme to the Twilight Zone went through Tim's head for a few seconds before he realized that Evelyn was grinning as she was speaking. Paired with her being a red head, Tim could easily see her getting Gibbs twisted around her little finger with that look alone, if she tried. Gibbs always went soft each time they had a case with a red head who looked at him like that. Snorting to himself in amusement, Tim went to sit at his desk. "Just type in what you want. In this instance, you would type 'DiNozzo Performance Review' along with the month and year of the specific review you are looking for."

"March 2009." Gibbs supplied, sending another smirk towards Tony.

"Alright, let's just quick type that in..." Evelyn leaned in front of Gibbs to type and pressed enter. Her grin grew slightly when a single search result appeared on the computer screen. "And there you go! The file you are looking for. The search bar is present on every screen you open in the interface so you can use it at any time. That should be everything. Any questions?"

"Nope. I think I got it." Evelyn smiled at the reply, straightening her posture so she was standing upright.

"That's great! If there are any issues down the line, Agent Gibbs, I'm always available to come in and fix them."

"I'll remember that." Nodding, Evelyn walked around Gibbs' desk and back towards Tim's, giving him a teasing smile.

"I finished the set up on your computer, Timothy. You can go ahead and check it out, now. Make sure my Caltech education didn't mess up your precious computer." Tim stuck his tongue out at Evelyn as he brought up the interface.

"Ok, that'll just be a couple virus scans. Maybe I should add another firewall, just to be safe." Tim laughed as Evelyn reached over his desk to smack him on the arm.

"Keep talking, Mr. Law Enforcement, and I'll do you in right here. I can handle the witnesses." Evelyn stuck her own tongue out at Tim, picking up the program CD she had set on his desk.

"Good luck with that." Tim replied with a tad bit of sarcasm. Shaking her head, Evelyn turned and started walking towards Ziva's desk. Seeing this, Abby went to stand over by Tony. Ziva stood back so Evelyn could access her computer, sending a look towards Tim over Evelyn's head. Tim shrugged, not being able to handle the Tony/Abby situation at the moment. Gibbs was in a good mood and Tim didn't want to remove the older agent from it.

"What type of interface will you be providing me, Dr. Brant?" Ziva asked as she watched Evelyn insert the CD into the drive and start working.

"A mid-range one, somewhere between the other two I've already installed. It's considered the default one. Think of it like having a second operating system on your computer."

"Are you able to change which language the interface is in?" Ziva looked at the screen in fascination. She never understood the work Tim and Abby did on the computers for the team's cases, but watching a computer be manipulated the way they did and Evelyn currently was always pulled a feeling of interest from her.

"Sure!" Evelyn nodded, keeping her eyes on the screen. "Which language would you like?"

"Hebrew."

"Not a problem. That's one of the languages that we automatically coded into the program since a coworker of mine at the Jeffersonian is from Israel and prefers his computers to be in Hebrew. I need to install it in English so I can read everything and make sure nothing goes wrong, but I can show you where to change it when I'm done."

"I would be very grateful, thank you." Ziva stepped away from her desk, allowing Evelyn to work without having someone looking over her shoulder.

"I'm off to get us all some lunch! Probie, come with?" Tim froze at the question. Alone in a car with Tony. Not the exact situation Tim wanted to put himself in. But he couldn't say no without making Gibbs suspicious. Inhaling sharply, Tim turned to answer.

"Sure, why not? I can continue going over my interface when we get back." Tim collected his badge and Sig from his desk, putting his computer on sleep mode. Ziva gave him an amused look when he approached her and Tony's end of the Bull Pen, making him roll his eyes. Just because she understood didn't mean she wasn't going to laugh at his misfortune.

"Hey, Timothy? Could I ask you a favor now, since I'm going to be gone when you get back?" Tim turned to face Evelyn, who hadn't looked up.

"Sure. What is it?"

"Text me at 8 o'clock, tonight." Confusion went through Tim in waves.

"Text you. That's it? Nothing specific?" That pulled Evelyn away from Ziva's screen.

"Despite my protests, a friend of mine from work set me up on a blind date. Another friend let slip who the guy is and I can't stand him. He's a sexist, chauvinistic pig who wouldn't know manners if they bit him in the ass. Text me so I have reason to leave and not go to prison for murder. Please?" Tim's gut clenched at the hopeful look on Evelyn's face. _No, we're not dating_ , his mind repeated back at him mockingly. Tim wished he could go back and smack himself.

"When and where is this date?" Tony asked, stepping forward in Tim's pause to answer. Evelyn turned to him, hopeful look still on her face.

"7 at Ricci's. Why?" Tony smirked, turning his head to look at Tim.

"You're not busy at 7:30, are you Probie? I think I'm going to have Italian for dinner tonight. I'd like you to join me." Tim's eyes widened slightly when he realized what Tony was suggesting.

"You want us to go crash Evelyn's date?"

"Sure, why not?" Evelyn's eyes went from hopeful to excited at the idea of them randomly showing up. Frowning at Tony, Tim sighed. He had a feeling Tony was going to explain in the car during his interrogation. Another glance at Evelyn's face had him speaking before he realized it.

"Fine. Evelyn, we'll show up at 7:30. What will you be wearing?" Evelyn clapped in excitement, moving to the edge of Ziva's chair.

"The dress I wore when we went and saw Star Trek." Tony gave Tim a look that said they were _definitely_ talking in the car. "My hair will be down. Shouldn't be hard to miss."

"Got it. See you later tonight." Giving Evelyn a smile, Tim started pushing a chuckling Tony towards the elevator. Once they were inside and the doors closed, Tim turned to him with a glare. "What the hell?"

"Me, what the well? You, what the hell!" Tony snapped back as he pressed the button for the first floor. "Were you ever going to mention her to the rest of us? I get avoiding telling Abby, after the look she gave you, but come on!"

"Let's see how that conversation would go, huh? 'Hey Tony! Ziva! When I was away at that convention last month, I met an amazing young woman who I spent my entire evening with instead of focusing on the presentations. Oh, by the way, she's just shy of 19!'. Yeah, I can see you letting me out of that without a word, Tony." Tim scoffed, turning away from Tony to look at the doors.

"McGee, you know me. I'm excited for you here! You found a young woman who is capable of keeping up with that brain of yours, if your short conversations in the Bull Pen say anything about it. And she's 18. That's a perk! Seriously, how many guys either of our ages can say they're with an 18-year-old?"

"We're just friends, Tony. We're not dating." Tim hissed.

"But you _wanna_." The Italian insisted. "It was clear on your face when she gave you that excited look when I suggested we date-crash. What's holding you back from going for it?"

"She's 18!" Tim shrieked, turning to look at his partner with disbelief. "I am 13 years older than her, Tony. I could have babysat her in high school!"

"Don't use that as an excuse. You..." Tony paused when the doors opened, letting in people who were going up. Sending Tim a look that said he wasn't done, Tony headed out first. Groaning, Tim quickly followed. He forced a smile on his face when dealing with the guard at the main door, but once he was outside it dropped. It took Tony all of ten seconds to continue speaking, albeit at a much quieter tone. "13 years is not that big of an age difference, Probie. We're regularly told on the news about this couple and that couple getting married that have 20 years or _more_ separating their ages. Don't let a mere 13 keep you from going for it."

"There's more to it than that, Tony." Tim replied wearily.

"If it comes down to it, I'll deal with Abby." Tony incorrectly assumed.

"I can handle Abby, Tony." Tim stopped just short of Tony's car, running a hand through his hair. "It's my family."

"I may not know her as well as I know you, McGee, but I do not see Sarah having an issue with this."

"Sarah wouldn't." Tony shook his head as he opened the driver-side door, looking over the roof of the car at Tim.

"Then what's the issue? You always let off that Sarah is at the top of your priority list. She'll be happy to be knocked down a notch or two." Tim frowned at the implication of Tony's statement, opening his own door.

"Let's just say that my relationship with my parents isn't exactly as rosie as everyone thinks." Tim retorted as he entered the car, closing the door with a slam. Sending a confused look to nothing, Tony sighed before schooling his facial features and entering the car, himself.


	6. Interrogation

Tim sighed as he glared at the car accident in the middle of the highway. He could hear Tony next to him calling the office, informing Gibbs that they were surrounded by cars and couldn't get back until traffic started up again. Tim and Tony, along with everyone in the cars surrounding them, where stuck going zero miles per hour until the cleaning crew was done.

After confirming that the two of them were fine being missing from the office Tony hung up with a snap. But he didn't say a word, instead letting the silence build up in his Mustang. Tim shifted slightly in anxiety. He started to feel like a cornered animal. And he wasn't far off, considering he was stuck in the car until whenever they managed to get back to the Navy Yard.

"Now," Tony began, finally speaking up. "Care to explain that comment you said earlier?" Tim wasn't stupid enough to play naive and ask about which comment Tony was referring to. Letting his head lean against the side window with a small thunk, Tim sighed again. He didn't fully understand why he was being stubborn. As much as Tony teased, he never repeated a single thing Tim had told him in confidence. Ever. So now that they were stuck alone together for an undetermined amount of time, guaranteed the ability to speak without interruption from any of the others, Tim's stress withered away into nothing. He wondered why he even bothered worrying about Tony in the first place.

"The last time my father and I had a civil conversation was when I was telling him and my mother about being assigned to Norfolk." Tim started. It was...strange to finally admit that he had his own fair share of daddy-issues like the rest of the team. "He begrudgingly accepted me working for NCIS since I'd still be working for the Navy. But going to Norfolk, which is so far away from Key West, was not something he expected. My father thought I'd push to be assigned to Mayport or one of the subordinate offices for the Southeast."

"Why didn't you?" Tim shrugged at Tony's question.

"I had just recently graduated from Johns Hopkins. I wanted to go someplace where my degrees would actually be used. NCIS said they'd be useful in Norfolk so who was I to argue?"

"Pushing papers put them to good use?" They both snorted, remembering Tim's small office that looked more like a filing cabinet than a work place.

"Not really." Tim admitted. "But I helped the IT guys frequently. That helped me keep from banging my head against the wall in boredom most of the time."

"Would Mayport really have been any better?" Tony asked rhetorically, knowing it would be a resounding 'No'.

"Dad didn't see it like that. Since then, every time my father and I have seen each other we either ignored each other, got into another large argument, or a mixture of both. It's why I haven't gone home to my parents lately. I don't think my mother can handle too many more arguments between the two of us." Tim finished in a quiet voice. He had gone home at every opportunity when he was in college, had gotten used to seeing his mother semi-frequently, and now missed her a great deal. But not seeing her went hand-in-hand with avoiding his father.

"And Sarah?" Tony prodded. Tim's mother certainly wasn't the only family member affected.

"She only considered Waverly an option when I moved to a place with-in driving distance. Having family nearby was a must for her when she was choosing and applying to colleges. Sarah ended up getting accepted into several, even an Ivy League school."

"Wait, McSister could have gone Ivy League? Why'd she pick Waverly?" Tim grinned sheepishly as he turned his head to answer Tony's question.

"I'm her big brother. Regardless of what she's done I've always been on her side. Because of that, she was more anxious about being separated from me than our parents. And she wasn't about to let this issue I have with our father keep us apart."

"So she sided with you?" Tony's eyebrows rose in question.

"No." Tim quickly answered as he shook his head. "Sarah, like our mother, didn't pick sides. She and I are as close as Siamese twins but Sarah's also a Daddy's Girl. So, with the McGee stubbornness that she and I ironically inherited from our father, Sarah ignores the problem and interacts with us separately. Sarah also refuses to go to any McGee family reunion that our mother insists that I go to. Dad and I may be more than happy to leave her out of it but we have family members who _did_ pick sides, and they all try to get her to do the same every time another argument happens."

"I didn't realize that there were McGee's capable of being vindictive." Tim burst out laughing at Tony's comment, shaking his head.

"I can be just the same, if not worse, as the rest of my family." Tony gave Tim an incredulous look, clearly not believing him. "Tony, it's practically a job requirement to survive working for Gibbs. Stubbornness, sneakiness, vindictiveness; all of us have those qualities. Even Abby, Ducky, and Palmer. Some of us just don't use them that often."

"McGee, when have you _ever_ been vindictive? You're the nicest guy at the Yard!"

"Remember back when we were away from the team for a few months because Vance and Gibbs were mole hunting?" Tony nodded to confirm he did. "As a member of Cyber Crimes, I was sent out to help fix computers whenever somebody at the Yard had an issue. People in other departments seemed to listen to me better than the others in Cyber Crimes so it happened a lot. Anyway, there was one guy in Human Resources who was a bit...abrasive. He claimed he had a Bachelors in Computer Science, _somehow_ , so he insisted that he was capable of fixing any computer problems they had. But every time he attempted to fix something, he only made it worse. So one day I confronted him and wiped his computer of anything personal after he left."

"Wait, you what?" Tony sputtered out in a laugh.

"After he left the Yard one day, I cleared his hard drive. All his music, his personal documents, and pictures were gone. I didn't leave a single thing untouched. I, in a way, reset the computer back to its original factory settings before downloading all his work files back onto it from the mainframe." Tim let out a mischievous smirk. Tony went silent as his eyes grew to the size of saucers. "Considering how much we rely on computers at the Yard, hitting him that far below the belt got the message through far quicker than anything else I could have done."

"Remind me to never get you that irritated." Tony shook his head in slight disbelief that Tim would ever do anything like that.

"But we're getting off topic." Tim continued. "If I were to call home to my mother with the news that I was dating a woman 13 years younger than me, it would be a race to see who could get to my neck faster. Her or my father. Both of my parents were raised in strict households and to have their son do something that is still considered semi-taboo would be seen as an embarrassment to the family. Now add that to the issues I currently have with my father. I seriously think that would push him over the edge and he would disown me."

"You have got to be kidding me." Tim shook his head with a heavy sigh.

"Nope. Though I should probably think of that as a blessing. It'd finally end all the hell the two of us are inadvertently putting Sarah and my mother through."

"Tim, no." Tony grabbed Tim's arm to gain his direct attention. "That would only make it worse for the two of them. Trust me on this. I _know_."

Tim opened his mouth to argue but then remembered that Tony, himself, had already experienced having his father disown him. Tim closed his mouth, turning to look back out the windshield.

"Seven years is just a long time to be at odds with him, Tony. I don't know what to do anymore..."

"You'll figure something out. But don't let your parents dictate your life like that." Tony insisted. "What if Dr. Brant turns out to be your, quote unquote, soul mate? You gonna turn Romeo on me and symbolically kill yourself over it if you two aren't allowed to be together because your _parents_ say so? I've watched you get burned time and time again since you transferred to the Yard, and that _includes_ Abby! If that keeps up you'll die inside. I just know it. A guy can only handle so much of that before he calls it quits and you are certainly nearing your limit."

"I know." Tim answered quietly. He couldn't really deny what Tony was saying. He even felt a little lethargic at hearing it come out of the mouth of someone else. All these years Tim had made it a point to ignore his 'issues' in the dating scene, but clearly Tony had been paying a lot closer attention than he realized.

"Tim, look at me." McGee turned his head in response to Tony's order. "Dr. Brant seemed to light up whenever you two interacted. The ball of stress that you have been lately just _oozed_ away as you two bantered. I am telling you, my partner, my friend, the closest thing I have to a brother, to go for it. You say the two of you met just last month. If I had made a bet on that I would have lost because the two of you act like you've known each other for years. When you and a woman just click like that, Tim, you don't let some other guy get her. You go Gollum on her and treat her as if she's the Precious and _don't_ let her go."

Tim couldn't stop the laughter from escaping his mouth at Tony's reference, knowing it probably burned a little inside for Tony to admit to being a Lord of the Rings fan. It didn't last long, though, as the reality of the situation slammed back down onto him. Was he seriously letting Tony pep talk him into ignoring the part of himself that screamed that Evelyn was off limits? After considering it for a few seconds Tim decided that Tony hadn't corrupted him enough, given the amount of years they've known each other, and that Tony should corrupt him a little bit more.

"Alright." He conceded. "I will. How do you suggest I go about this, then?"

"Start with the date-crash tonight. It's why I suggested it in the first place. You know what she's going to be wearing so dress up, yourself. I'll get Jimmy to call me fifteen minutes after we show up to give us enough time to get Mr. Pig outta there so _I_ have a reason to leave. Once I'm gone, salvage the situation and turn it into a date. Obviously something geeky since it's clear she loved you taking her to see Star Trek." Tim rolled his eyes at that final comment but absorbed all the information that explained Tony's own actions from back in the Bull Pen. It became clear to Tim that Tony had been planning this since the moment Evelyn had squealed in excitement. Now all that needed to be done was to work out his part of the plan.


	7. Clearing the Air

Tim stood just outside the lab door, debating if he should go inside or not. The look Abby had given him earlier scared him more than he cared to admit. Tony had even offered to speak with the Goth before running off to plan tonight's date-crash with Palmer but Tim insisted that he do it first. It  _needed_  to be him who spoke with her first. He thought long and hard about this in the car with Tony and decided that they needed to clear the air between each other if he was going to actively pursue Evelyn. Briefly wondering if he was walking to his own execution, Tim inhaled sharply and stepped into the lab.

The only thing that told Tim that Abby even knew he was there was a minute pause in her typing. ' _So that's how it's going to go_ ' he thought with a tad bit of resignation. The fact that she hadn't turned around to throw him out made him wary of approaching her work station so he moved to put the evidence table between them. He simply never knew how Abby was going to react in a given situation until it started happening, even if he was considered the resident 'Abby Expert', and the symbolic shield the table provided would probably be needed. Perhaps he should give the title back to Gibbs...

"Abby." Tim didn't know which direction to start with. There were many possible things in this situation that could make her angry with him and he didn't know which one was the worst. "I don't know how to explain anything to you. I don't know where to begin."

"How about starting with the fact that you've been dating someone and haven't told any of us." Abby hissed out, her eyes still on the screen in front of her. Tim nodded to her back, agreeing that that specific topic should be straightened out first.

"Evelyn and I aren't dating, Abby. At least...not  _yet_. I would be lying if I said I didn't want to. She's a wonderful young woman."

"Young would be one way to describe it." That threw Tim through a loop, making him do a double take. Out of everyone on the team he had never suspected that Abby would be one to have an issue with the age difference. She was always preaching that love was love. If he was surprised by that then he really  _did_  need to give the 'Abby Expert' title back to Gibbs.

"But that's not the main issue, is it?" Tim pushed on, refusing to believe that his Abby-radar was that far off. "Because not once in the entire time I've known you have you made age an issue about anything. Hell, there's a bigger age difference between Tony and Ziva, and I've lost track of how many times you've schemed to try and get them together."

"That's beside the point. Ziva can kick Tony's ass if she wanted to. She..." Abby finally turned around to argue face to face.

"Really, Abby?" Tim interrupted. "Their age difference is fine because Ziva can literally go through with her 'death by paperclip' threats if she wanted to? I know Tony can be lewd at the best of times but he's not  _that_  bad as to actually require his ass to be handed to him."

"I know he's not." Abby insisted with a glare. "But Ziva's experience evens the playing field between them. Dr. Brant is barely of age and..."

"More mature and mindful of her actions than a large hunk of people here at the Yard." Tim interrupted again. He wasn't about to let Abby divert off into a tangent. At least he could see  _that_  coming. "You make it sound like I'm going to corrupt her, taint her, destroy her virtue. Abby, you know I'm not some skirt chaser who only goes after women to get them into bed!"

"I didn't say that!" Abby yelled back defensively. She slid off her stool and stepped towards the table in an unconscious effort to support her claim.

"Then what  _are_  you saying, Abby? I came down here to straighten things out between us. I know you're angry. I'm trying to figure out why!" That look Abby had given him before appeared again and the context of their argument explained in sudden clarity what Tim hadn't been able to figure out earlier. "It's...it's not Evelyn you have a problem with, is it? It's me."

"McGee, no." Abby denied immediately, a panicked expression appearing on her face. "I do not have a problem with you. I could never have a problem with you. You're..."

"Dependable. Courteous. Willing to  _wait_  to let a woman be sure of her decision." Tim finished for her in an even, understanding tone. "Many people here in the Yard have been expecting us to get back together despite of Rule 12, probably including Gibbs, and we've done nothing that would say otherwise. We flirt, we spend a lot of our free time together, we haven't really put a true effort into dating others and get jealous when we see the other with someone else. What else could anyone, including ourselves, think would happen between us?"

"McGee, where is this coming from?" Abby asked in confusion that barely masked her earlier anger, turning the tables on him.

"You tell me, Abby. Why are you so angry with me just because I'm showing interest in another woman?" Tim answered with his own question. Abby mimicked a goldfish for a few seconds as she searched for a reply to give him. Tim was finally shutting up long enough to allow her to do more than answer a direct question and she was having trouble finding something to say.

"It's just...it's easy to see that you've known her for a while now and I'm feeling blindsided and I didn't know that the chance of getting back together like you had mentioned disappeared without my notice and...and...and..." Angry tears started to form in Abby's eyes during her rant, slowly slipping down her cheeks. Tim had to remind himself  _not_  to walk around the table to hug her. "And I feel like I've been toyed with! I can blow off other men doing that with me, McGee, but not you! I've always thought that you could be the one if I could get over my own cowardice!"

Tim wasn't happy with what it took for them to admit their feelings to one another after all these years of working together. It was just one small event after another, slowly building up until it finally exploded upon the entrance of a second, real interest in one of their lives. Tim didn't know what made Evelyn different from all the other women he'd tried dating in the past handful of years but it was clear that she was, to anyone paying attention.

"Abby." Tim began slowly when it was clear to him that she wasn't going to say any more. "I waited. I did. I  _wanted_  you to be the one. When I told you that I loved you, I meant it."

"But..." The look of anticipatory agony on Abby's face was not easy for Tim to take. To know that he was the reason that it was there made it worse.

"But...I can't wait anymore, Abby. I can't. And if I'm being completely honest, here, I think the love I had originally felt for you doesn't exist anymore. I think it hasn't existed for a while." ' _Thank god we aren't working a case_ ' was all Tim could think at the moment. The two of them emotionally out for the count while searching for a killer would not a happy Gibbs make. Tim wasn't even finished with what he needed to say and the tears were streaming down Abby's face. It made it extremely difficult for him to continue. "I want a woman who's going to let me hold her when she needs me. To protect her, to take care of her, to  _love_  her and not be scared off by the idea of a domestic lifestyle. I don't want her to change who she is but I also don't want her adverse to the idea of compromise. Whether she wants to be a career woman or decides to go the homemaker route, I want a woman who's going to be there for me when I come home from work just like I'll be there for her. I want a woman who'll understand that, while I have interwoven my work and personal lives somewhat, I still want to keep certain aspects of them separate. I want a woman who isn't going to be afraid to take what I have to give."

A couple things Tim listed off hit sore spots with Abby, showing each time she winced through-out his little speech, and that told him he was right in expressing exactly what he was looking for. They were being forced to face the reality of their situation between them because of it.

"We've been dancing around each other for the last few years, Abby, and it has to stop. I am jumping off this train before it gets out of control. We may have thought of each other as the one we wanted to be with for the rest of our lives but we can't be. What we each want out of life just doesn't match enough to allow us to be a compatible couple. We wouldn't last." Abby finally burst into tears, backing away from the evidence table to collapse back onto her stool. Tim gave in to his urge and rushed around the table to pull her into a hug which she returned. He let her vent her pent up emotions knowing they needed to be let out  _now_  lest they build up into another explosion, possibly on an innocent bystander. When Abby's sobs quieted down to sniffles and the occasional wet gasp for air, Tim kissed her on the top of her head and hugged her tighter as he finished in a whisper. "I love you, Abby. Always will. I just don't love you the same way anymore."

"I guess I should have seen this coming. That part of you hasn't changed one bit since I first met you." Abby warbled, swallowing hard. "And especially since you've been keeping your dating life secret."

"I haven't kept anything a secret, Abby." Tim corrected as he pulled away just enough to look her in the face.

"But Dr. Brant...she seemed so excited to see you earlier..."

"I met Evelyn at the writer's convention I attended last month. She and I have spent some time together since then but nothing that we've considered a date."

"Really?" Abby asked in surprise. Tim nodded.

"The closest would probably be when I took her to see Star Trek. Everything else I've done with her I regularly do with Tony and Ziva, so they'd hardly be date-worthy."

"Oh..." Abby paused. "I guess this is a good reason why Gibbs has a rule about assuming, doesn't he?"

Tim snorted out a laugh, relieved that the tension between them was gone. Abby was starting to joke again.

"Yeah, I would guess so. Most likely not the reason he used when creating the rule but a good example, none the less."

"She's very nice, you know." Was Abby's reply. "Reminds me of you. Well, of you when we first met. She works a computer like it's an extension of herself."

"Yeah, I've seen her do some work on her own computer. She would be the only person I'm willing to admit knows a computer better than I do. If I can work one in my sleep, she can do it comatose."

"Wow." Abby pulled out of the hug with a mild look of amazement. "She really  _must_  be good if you're admitting she's better than you."

Tim snorted, pulling on one of Abby's pigtails.

"Cheeky. Listen, you going to be ok if I leave right now? It's not good to leave Tony and Palmer unsupervised for extended periods of time." Abby nodded, wiping her face dry with a quick flick of her hands.

"Yes. I'll be fine. What are the Terrible Twins doing?"

"Going over Tony's plan for the date-crash tonight." Tim answered with a groan at the mere thought of what those two were coming up with. "I don't understand why Tony wants to make it into this big production. It's not difficult to interrupt a date."

"It's Tony. He sees a pretty girl, he wants to impress her regardless of if he's interested in her or not." Abby pointed out.

"True." Tim hesitated a second before kissing Abby on the temple. "I'll talk to you later." With one last tug on one of her pigtails, Tim turned on his heel and headed off to go see what Tony and Jimmy were scheming.

* * *

 

"You survived!" Tony exclaimed as Tim walked into autopsy. "I figured we would have to file a missing persons report, considering there wouldn't be any evidence of your death."

"About that, Tony. You may want to go check in on Abby later. She said she was going to be fine when I asked before leaving but I'd still feel better if someone checked in on her." Tim frowned as he approached the table that Tony and Jimmy were at, leaning on it with a hip.

"Not gonna ask  _why_ , as I have a feeling I'll get a play-by-play from Abby, but alright. I'll go ask her if she wants to come with me and Jimmy tonight after you ditch me for the red-headed temptress." Tim choked on air at the unexpected nickname, putting Tony and Jimmy into a fit of laughter.

"Tony, you did  _not_  just call Evelyn a 'red-headed temptress'." Tim hissed when he finally regained his breath.

"What?" The Italian asked with an innocent face. "Young she may be, my dear Probie, but Dr. Brant is certifiably hot. She could get you wrapped around her little finger with very little effort on her part."

"You're old enough to be her father." Tim pointed out, relishing the grimace that appeared on Tony's face. Downside was that Jimmy started laughing harder.

"Thanks for making me feel old, McCradle Robber. Guess that's the thanks I get for helping you."

"You walked into that one, Tony." Jimmy managed to get out between gasps for air. "Even I saw that coming."

Tony just stuck his tongue out at Jimmy, re-establishing his immature mentality before turning back to Tim.

"Anyway, Black Lung and I were trying to think of ways to get me out of the picture once Mr. Pig leaves."

"But for obvious reasons it can't be work related." Jimmy continued through subdued chuckles. "Anything work related would require both of you to leave. We only want to kick Tony out of the party."

"Which is probably a first for him." Tim smirked at his partner. "Why don't you do an SOS call, Jimmy?"

"Huh?" Jimmy looked back and forth between the two field agents in front of him as Tony nodded in understanding.

"Don't worry, Autopsy Gremlin. I know where McGee is coming from and it's perfect. I'll explain later." Trusting Tony to do as he said, Jimmy shrugged off any other questions he had.

"Now on to what I've been wanting to know since Tony barged in. Who's Dr. Brant?" Tim gave Tony a look, who had resorted back to his innocent look again.

"Evelyn, or Dr. Brant, is a forensic psychologist and computer expert who works at the Jeffersonian. I met her at the writer's convention I attended last month." Tim felt like he'd been repeating that all day. "She was here earlier installing some new equipment. Evelyn had originally asked me earlier to call her to give her an excuse to leave a date early but Tony here suggested we go crash it. She apparently liked that idea better so that's what we're doing.

"Don't omit." Tony accused with a grin. "McGee here was against the idea at first. Only said yes because Dr. Brant gave him a hopeful look with her big, doe eyes and McSmitten here was helpless to resist."

"I am  _not_  smitten." Tim retorted, despite the slight blush that was beginning to form on his face. "Even Gibbs would have buckled under that look. She is a red-head, after all."

Tony and Jimmy remained silent, anticipatory looks of amusement on their faces. Tim wondered why they weren't saying anything when he realized what he had just said and tensed up just before his head jerked forward from a head slap.

"Sorry, Boss." Was out of Tim's mouth as a simple knee-jerk reaction to being head slapped. The others remained silent, probably because of a look from Gibbs, though it was clear they were laughing on the inside.

"If you two have so much time on your hands maybe you should go clean and organize the truck." Gibbs heavily suggested. Tim turned around to answer and saw that Ducky was with Gibbs, having returned from whatever errands a Medical Examiner needs to do during the work day.

"Right away, Boss."

"Why don't you join them, Mr. Palmer? I'm sure learning how the supply truck is organized will be useful information to you at a later date." Ducky added on with a restrained look of entertainment at the three of them, also interrupting whatever it was Gibbs was about to add. Seeing their chance to get out of there quickly without any further damage, Tim, Tony, and Jimmy didn't hesitate to head towards the elevator.


	8. Date Crashing

"Tony, why do you look like the cat who ate the cardinal?" Ziva asked as the man in question returned to the Bull Pen with Tim, truck neatly organized and clean enough to eat off of after a few hours of them working on it.

"Canary." The two men automatically corrected. Ziva merely rolled her eyes and motioned at Tony to answer.

"I'm just so proud of Probie! It may have taken a bit of nudging but he's finally taking the initiative!"

"Tony..." Tim let out an exasperated sigh with an eye roll of his own. "Last time I checked, you're the one who hijacked the situation."

"To help  _you_ , McReserved! And anyway, I merely created an opportunity for you to take advantage of. You could have said no to the date-crash idea." Tony pointed out with a smirk. Ziva perked up at that, nodding in agreement.

"Tony is right, McGee. You could have said no."

"Hey!" Tim called out in mock offense. "Who's side are you on?"

"Dr. Brant's." Ziva quickly replied. Tony snorted as Tim rose an eyebrow in curiosity at the answer. "I was the one to escort Dr. Brant out of the building earlier and I took the opportunity to ask her a few simple questions."

"Ziva, you didn't!" Tony roared with laughter at the scandalized look on Tim's face as he thought of Evelyn being in an impromptu interrogation from Ziva. Trust the Israeli Ninja to go for the throat and directly question her 'target'.

"I did not ask her anything embarrassing, McGee, if that is what you are worried about. I merely made a few observations about you and Tony before asking her for her own opinion. Her answers were most enlightening."

"Wait, you talked about me?" Tony sidetracked.

"No, I will not tell you what I said about you." Ziva immediately denied the implied question.

"Why not?" The Senior Field Agent whined. Ziva ignored him and turned back to Tim.

"It is easy to see why you two click, McGee." She continued, using Tim's previous words against him. "It would be easy to turn this 'clicking' friendship into a 'clicking' interest, would it not?"

Tony turned to Tim in confusion. It was clear he thought his Ziva-to-English translator had broke. Tim just shook his head at the unasked question from his male partner, sighing at the one from his female partner.

"You are not the only one to think that, Ziva, and Tony beat you to the punch. He's already talked me into turning the date-crash into a new date, altogether."

"That is excellent! He finally does something smart, for once." Tony stuck his tongue out at Ziva, throwing a paper ball in her general direction. "Do you have any ideas on what you are going to be doing on this new date?"

"I have a few..." Tim answered warily. He didn't like her tone. "Why?"

"I am just wondering. Anything you do must be  _you_ , if that makes any sense at all. Dr. Brant and you are clearly past the point of introductions. Any plans that are not unique to you would be a step back." It made a sort of sense. Tim couldn't deny that. Their introductions  _were_  back during that first dinner they had together.

"Well, I was going to make the final decisions after seeing her. Evelyn's schedule sounded busy today and I don't know how tired she'll be. That way I have a few options to pick from instead of only having one plan in mind."

"Sounds reasonable." Tony was forced to admit. In their business, any day where you're forced into a working lunch was a hellish day to deal with.

"Alright, out." Gibbs announced as he swept into the Bull Pen and sat at his own desk with what appeared to be a fresh coffee in hand. "Before I find more maintenance work for you to do."

Not willing to find out what Gibbs had in mind as  _more_  maintenance work, the three team members unanimously aborted their conversation and scrambled to collect their things before heading to the elevator. It wasn't until the elevator doors were tightly closed behind them did any of them feel safe enough to speak again.

"Meet you at Ricci's at a quarter past 7, McGee?" Tony asked to confirm the details they had gone over while working on the truck.

"Yep. What did you tell Palmer to call you about?"

"You shall see. If I tell you ahead of time your reaction won't be quiet as genuine." A mischievous smile formed on Tony's face and Tim decided he didn't really want to know.

"What are you two doing to get Dr. Brant's date to leave?" Ziva inquired. It seemed logical in her mind that it would be the most important detail of the 'date-crash' Tony had suggested.

"Easy." Tim smirked slightly at Tony's flippant tone as the Italian man answered. "We're going to arrive and  _insist_ , for her safety of course, that she leave because the 'man she is trying to stay away from' is in the vicinity. The date will think Brant has a stalker that we've been looking into, Brant will find it hilarious, and it's a nice transition for her from one date to another as McGee here will literally be saving her from a guy she wants nothing to do with. Win all around!"

"So, wait..." Ziva held a hand up for Tony to stop talking. "You created a plan to get  _her_  out of the restaurant instead of  _him?_ "

"Great, isn't it?" Tim spoke up. "Since her 'safety' is on the line, we obviously can't allow him to follow."

"I must say I am impressed. I had worried about you two creating a loud scene in the restaurant that would have embarrassed Dr. Brant, at the very least."

"Excuse me? The 'two' of us?" Tim rose an eyebrow.

"Ok, I worried about  _Tony_  creating a loud scene. You are over dramatic at the best of times, Tony. Do not look so insulted." Ziva relented before turning to address Tony's pout at being singled out.

"And it's working to everyone's advantage here, so don't knock the drama." He pointed out just before they arrived at the main floor.

"Let me know how your plan works out." Ziva insisted before heading off to her car. Telling her that they would, the guys said a small farewell to each other on their way to their own cars.

* * *

Tim fiddled with his hunter green tie, a small nod to Evelyn's bold green dress she had told him she was going to be wearing, as he stood in front of Ricci's waiting for Tony. He didn't have to wait long. He may have been a tad bit early, but Tony arrived at 7:15 on the dot. And,  _thankfully_ , not wearing anything that would make him stick out like a sore thumb in the fine Italian restaurant.

"You know, McGee, I've been wondering most of the day just what this man looks like." Was the first thing Tony said as they approached the door. "With the stuck-up attitude Brant described earlier I would not doubt he got lucky in that department. Probably thinks it makes up for any bad behavior of his."

"Does it matter?" Tim asked rhetorically just as they were crossing the threshold and the point of no return.

"Good evening! Welcome to Ricci's. Do you have a reservation or are you a walk in, tonight? We're lucky enough to have a few free tables tonight for last minute planners." The hostess greeted in a smooth tone, everything she said geared to keeping them in the restaurant for business.

"I'm sorry." Tony stepped up, both men unconsciously falling into their senior/junior ranking that they used while speaking with suspects and witnesses on the job. "We're not here for dinner. We are here to speak with a patron of yours, tonight. You wouldn't happen to know where a Dr. Evelyn Brant is sitting, would you? We were told she had reservations with someone."

A flash of recognition at Tony's wording in the hostess' eyes meant he didn't have to say the phrase 'police business' to her, which also meant they technically weren't lying. They  _were_  here to see Evelyn. The blonde woman looked down to skim over her reservation list before pausing at one table number in particular.

"Yes. Dr. Evelyn Brant has reservations with a Dr. Paul Reichner. They are at table 39, out on the patio. Do you need any assistance finding it, sirs?"

"No, thank you." Tony let out one of his charming smiles. "We know how to get there from here. Thank you for your assistance."

"Yes, thank you." Tim said behind Tony as he followed the man past the entrance area and into the main room of the restaurant.

"That was easier than expected." Tony whispered back as the two of them weaved in and out of the tables to get to the patio entrance.

"Don't jinx us." Tim whispered back. They still had to interrupt the date. But when they stepped out onto the patio, that looked like it was going to be far easier than getting past the hostess. Dr. Reichner was talking away while Evelyn sat across him, silent, fake smile plastered on her face in a painful way that said she'd been forced to wear it probably since the start of the date. The two of them merely walking up to the table was enough to make Dr. Reichner pause in whatever it was he was saying.

"Yes, could I help you two?" Reichner asked bluntly. Evelyn turned to look at them as well, a thankful expression appearing on her face briefly before turning into a mildly interested one.

"I am deeply sorry to interrupt your date." Tony started, taking the lead again. Their plan was clear. Until they got Evelyn out of there, Tim's actions should be limited to keep her date's focus off of him. "But it's important. I'm here to speak with Dr. Brant about the police report she filed."

"What about it, detective?" Evelyn played along, not knowing where the two of them were going with this line of dialogue. As expected, Dr. Reichner's face lost a few shades of color as he mouthed 'police report'.

"We've been looking into the man's movements, Doctor, and we have reason to believe he followed you here."

"He followed me here?" Evelyn asked after a pause, her genuine surprise at that unexpected twist easily passable for shock and veiled fear through the rose-colored glasses Tony gave Dr. Reichner.

"Yes, and..." The ring of Evelyn's phone made both her and Reichner jump slightly, the timing eerie. Evelyn looked to Tony and Tim, not knowing what to do when she didn't recognize the number on the caller ID. Tony motioned for her to go ahead and answer it.

"Hello?" She said warily. Her eyebrows scrunched up in confusion slightly before she suddenly thrust the phone towards Tony, eyes wide in horror.

"Mr. Palmer..." Tim couldn't help but snap his head towards Tony in shock as the man started to speak into the phone. His reaction made Reichner go a few shades lighter. "This is...aaaand he hung up."

Tony slowly handed the phone back over to Evelyn, playing the scene up for Reichner.

"He hung up." Evelyn said with a frown.

"Yes. I'm afraid we are going to have to insist on you retiring to a more restricted dwelling for the rest of the evening, Dr. Brant. Please come with us." Evelyn immediately stood up, grabbing her purse in the process.

"Oh, my god. Paul, I am so sorry. I didn't think this would happen. I'll explain everything later." Evelyn played off her own hurry to get out of there to make her sound anxious.

"No, it's alright. When the police say you need to leave, who are you to argue?" Reichner insisted, waving off her apology airily. The others could see he was still processing everything that was thrown at him.

"Thank you. Like I said, I'll explain later." Evelyn repeated before turning and letting Tim and Tony lead her inside. Tim bit his tongue to remain silent the rest of the way through the restaurant, only letting loose once they were safety back outside and out of earshot of the hostess.

"Oh, my god, you had Jimmy call Evelyn's cell instead of your own?" Tim exclaimed in surprise. Evelyn giggled in happiness, hugging them both at the same time.

"I don't care. It got me out of there. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Tony laughed at both of their reactions.

"What? Like I said, McGee, if I told you your reaction wouldn't have been genuine if I let you know what I told Palmer. You needed to be surprised at who it was on the phone for our plan to work."

"I still can't believe you two faked a stalker." Evelyn insisted. "But what do I do now? It's not like I can go back to work. Paul will be going there and will wonder why I'm not 'somewhere secure' for the night."

"That, my fair lady, is up to McGee here. I'm off to congratulate Palmer on a job well done and see if he wants to go interrupt whatever Abby is doing tonight. I'm still in the mood to make people suddenly change their plans for the evening." Tony gave Tim a mischievous smile, giving him absolutely no lead in at all for his own plans. "Do behave, children. You shouldn't need a chaperone at your age but I will come back if need be."

Tim opened his mouth to snap something sarcastic back at Tony, but couldn't as the man immediately started walking away towards his car so Tim  _couldn't_  say anything. Glaring at the traitor's back for a few seconds, Tim let out a snort before turning to see Evelyn's look of expectation. He opened his mouth again to say something, only to stop short. ' _Thank you, Tony_.' Tim thought sarcastically. If he was going to be hesitating like this the entire time, it was going to be a long night.


	9. The Date, Part One

"Well, Mr. Law Enforcement, what are we doing?" Evelyn smirked in amusement. "You're my only source of transportation now, since Paul drove me here."

"Quick question before I answer that. Did you even have a chance to eat or did we arrive before your food did?" Tim stalled for time, putting a hand at the small of Evelyn's back to get her moving towards his car.

"I'm  _starving_. I feel like I could out-eat a pregnant woman, I'm so hungry. My working lunch turned into simply working, so I don't think I've eaten anything since breakfast." Evelyn frowned.

"Then that's what we're doing, first. Dinner." Tim insisted. He sped up a little to open the passenger car door for Evelyn and waited until she was seated before closing it. It didn't take Tim long to stride around the front of the Porsche and enter it, himself.

"In this get-up? Why, Agent McGee, that sounds suspiciously like a formal date. Is it?" Evelyn gave Tim what Tony called the 'McEyebrow', making him feel a bit odd at being on the receiving end of it. It certainly explained why Sarah always got annoyed with him when he did it to her.

"Yes, it is." He nodded in confirmation as he turned the ignition.

"Right." Evelyn said in a sarcastic 'I should have known' voice, barely restraining a smile. "Don't dates usually require one person to ask the other out first?"

Tim glanced back and forth between the road and Evelyn's too innocent face. If Ziva wasn't involved in this somehow, he'd eat his badge.

"You're going to milk this for all it's worth, aren't you?"

"You bet your ass I am. Now answer the question." The smile finally escaped and formed into a slightly mischievous grin. Tim put his complete focus on the road with an amused sigh, weighing his options. He could either give her what she wanted right away or make her work for it. Decisions, decisions...

"Alright." Tim relented. "Dr. Evelyn Brant, would you please grant me the pleasure of your presence and go on a date with me?"

"Yes." Evelyn let out a few giggles at Tim's formal wording, clearly enjoying the situation. "Now where are we going?"

"Italian is out of the question. After Tony's little stunt, I'd probably start imagining that the ravioli are little versions of his head. How does Chinese sound?" Tim suggested.

"I love Chinese!" Evelyn exclaimed excitedly. "I would eat a few dozen egg rolls if I could get away with it. But then that would prevent me from eating all the other great dishes, like Beef Broccoli or Egg Foo Young. There's this take-out place back home that has the  _best_  Pork Fried Rice. I go through at least a gallon of it every time I visit my parents."

"Then I take it asking about Chinese in the future would be a stupid question." Tim commented with a chuckle.

"Pretty much." The young woman next to him nodded.

"Well, if you're ever kidnapped and forced to attend a team night, you'll at least fit in."

"Sounds like fun." Evelyn commented, leaning back into the car seat and turning her attention to the passing architecture outside her car window. Tim glanced over to her with a smile before returning his eyes to the road.

* * *

Half the egg roll disappeared shortly after Evelyn picked it up off the appetizer plate. Tim looked on in amusement as she moaned in delight at the flavors, popping the other half in her mouth.

"You weren't kidding when you said you would eat a lot of those if you could, were you?" Evelyn snorted as she finished chewing, unable to respond until she swallowed.

"I'm telling you, Timothy, egg rolls are the food of the gods. They're Ambrosia that you chew." Tim let out a laugh as he picked up a crab rangoon.

"I'll take your word on that. Go ahead and have all of them. I'll just take all the rangoon." A torn expression appeared on Evelyn's face, pulling another laugh out of Tim. "What?"

"But...it's  _crab_  rangoon." Evelyn pointed out.

"I know that, Captain Obvious. I ordered it."

"Funny. No, I mean it's sea food." Tim watched in bemusement as Evelyn divided the appetizer plate so they each ended up with equal pieces of everything, including the ones they had already eaten. "I love sea food as well."

"Is there anything you  _don't_  like? Because I'm sensing a pattern here."

"Mushrooms. And green beans." Evelyn did a mock gag as she pointed a finger at the back of her throat. "Disgusting things. I refuse to eat anything that you keep in the dark and feed crap to make it grow. Green beans just taste nasty. And don't get me started on fried foods. I'm extremely picky about fried foods."

"Which means you don't eat most of them, do you?" Tim asked rhetorically.

"Correct. I do eat  _some_ , though. I'm rather particular about my diet. Or should I say, about my junk foods. I don't even eat donuts or cake."

"Ok, wait." Tim let out a laugh as he raised his hand for her to stop talking. "You don't eat donuts? Or cake? How do you survive any sort of social gathering?"

"I hog all the cookies and ice cream." Evelyn shot back with a smirk. "Honestly, though, I let myself go hungry if those are the only things offered. Better that than to force myself to eat something I can't stand the taste of."

"Point taken." Tim conceded with a small nod of acknowledgment. He opened his mouth to say something else but their food arrived. Evelyn set her small appetizer plate aside so she could continue to nibble on them throughout the meal as her Beef Broccoli was set in front of her. Tim surrendered his own plate to make room for his Shrimp Egg Foo Young. They both made easy work of opening their packs of disposable chopsticks. "But enough on diet choices. How do I fair so far in comparison to Dr. Reichner?"

Evelyn snorted a laugh around her mouthful of broccoli, shaking her head at Tim's question. He gave her an innocent expression, acting as if it was the most obvious thing in the world for him to ask about.

"Timothy, you are a far better date than Paul. Not to mention much more preferred. Have I told you that I've told my parents about you?" Tim's eyebrows rose in surprise at the admission.

"Really?" Evelyn nodded

"Yep. More my mother than my father, but I have spoken about you during my calls back home. First mentioned you when my mom asked how the convention went." An iffy look appeared on Tim's face as he thought about having to meet Evelyn's mother's expectations before even knowing he had to. "Oh, don't look so self-depreciating. My parents like you already."

"I don't know. You're an only child. It's not like they had someone before you to break them in for you." Tim joked. Suddenly, his gut wrenched when he remembered that he had told his own parents absolutely  _nothing_  about Evelyn. He hadn't even said anything to Sarah, yet. Now he felt horrible.

"Perhaps not." Evelyn continued, acting as if she didn't see the change in his expression. Tim knew better than to assume she hadn't. "But you are the first guy, period, who I've told them about since moving here. I tend to keep my calls home focused on my female friends and coworkers so I don't inadvertently get them ranting about one of my exes. The fact that I'm even referencing a guy makes them view you as being rather special."

"Ah." An awkward pause fell over the table. They both ate slowly, each of them unsure on how to get the conversation going again. The elephant in the room was definitely mocking them on this issue.

"So..." Evelyn cracked first. "How old fashioned  _are_  your parents?"

"Very." Tim admitted with a wince, dropping his head and his chopsticks at the same time.

"Meaning they don't know about me yet."

"No." Evelyn frowned slightly as she chewed through a piece of beef. Tim closed his eyes in guilt. He knew that he and Tony spoke about his parents earlier that day, but addressing the topic with Evelyn was a lot harder than he realized. And a lot more embarrassing.

"What's your core issue with them?" Was the next thing to come out of Evelyn's mouth, throwing Tim through a loop. He had expected her to get angry or be disappointed. Not...inquisitive.

"Huh?"

"Just stop it with all the single-word answers, alright? You speak of your sister quite frequently so I know you're family focused. What's keeping you from telling them about me?" Evelyn set her chopsticks down next to her plate and looked at Tim expectantly. Tim quickly identified that expression as her 'psychologist' look, meaning she was choosing her words carefully and with a specific intent. Ducky gave that look to everyone on the team more often than any of them cared to admit.

"My father and I have not gotten along with each other since I told my parents that NCIS was placing me at Norfolk. Arguments and stony silence have become the norm between the two of us. With my parents being as old fashioned as they are, I am worried that a call home about you would...well, would..." Tim struggled to find the words that would explain his emotions on the matter in the way he intended. Whatever he said had to be the absolute truth, lest he completely screw up any dwindling chance he had left at getting another date after this one was over.

"Cause even more trouble?" Evelyn supplied. Tim couldn't deny what she said, despite his dislike of her blunt wording.

"In a nutshell, yes." Evelyn nodded in understanding, picking her chopsticks back up. When she didn't say anything more, a flash of irritation flew through Tim. Her calm demeanor was unsettling to him and he wished she would actually  _react_. "You're not going to say anything?"

"What more is there to say, Timothy?" Evelyn asked after a quick sip of her water. "I know that not everyone is lucky enough to have parents as understanding and welcoming as mine. The fact that you're worried about simply mentioning me shows how serious this issue with your father is. What do you want me to do, be angry because you're trying to  _not_  stoke the fire into an uncontrollable inferno?"

Tim opened his mouth with full intent on agreeing when his brain registered what Evelyn was actually saying. She wasn't going to get aggravated with him for putting his family first, even if they  _were_  fighting. She wasn't going to be so arrogant as to assume that she currently ranked high enough on his priority list to be worth the risk of being completely cut off from his parents. And, one final thing his inner brain pointed out, she was reacting the way a significant other  _should_  in a situation like this. Tim was just so used to the somewhat self-centered reactions of nearly every other woman he interacted with that he completely forgot that Evelyn was far from being similar to them in any way.

"No." Tim finally replied with a shake of his head. "No, I don't want you to get angry."

"Well, good. Because I'm not going to." Evelyn said with a tone of finality, effectively ending the discussion.


	10. The Date, Part Two

Evelyn curled her arm around Tim's as they walked away from the table after another debate over the bill, which Tim won again. He couldn't resist making her face flush with irritation over the common argument between the two of them.

"Now that we're both full, what are we doing next? It's nearly 8:15." Evelyn asked.

"Depends, actually, on how late you're willing to stay up."

"I don't have a bed time." Tim snorted at Evelyn's response to his own deflection. He just couldn't get away with creating some suspense with the young woman.

"There are a few things I've been thinking that we could do. One of them we're doing for sure, but we're going to do that last. Which leaves us with two options. Do you want something fast paced or slow?" Evelyn thought over her choices as Tim opened the car door for her and closed it after she sat down. He meandered around to his own door and slid in.

"Let's go fast." Evelyn grinned. Tim nodded in acknowledgment to her answer, making quick work of driving his car out of the parking lot. "What's the fast paced option?"

"One of the local 'geek' groups, as Tony calls them, holds something akin to a four day free-for-all every month that's open to the public. They do trivia, mini contests, share and compare fan art. It's kind of like a convention, starring the fans instead of big name actors and creators." Tim explained. "I've been to a few in the past. They're loads of fun. From what I understand, the building it's held in is owned by one of the people in charge of the event. That's why it's free for people to attend."

"So it's one, big community get together for those of the geeky persuasion?" Evelyn's interest perked up.

"Basically." Tim admitted with a small laugh. "Even the local businesses around the event building have realized that the monthly event is a great way to pull in possible customers. They've made a few deals with those in charge so that if identification wrist bands are made available to the attendees, those people can get discounts on various services and merchandise the day they purchase it."

"Wow. That...that is seriously awesome. How have I not heard of this?" Evelyn's eyes were wide in amazement.

"What's the first rule about Fight Club?" Tim asked rhetorically. A look of understanding appeared on Evelyn's face. The question explained everything. News of the event was spread by word of mouth and nothing else. "I'm sure you'll love it. Once you go to one, it's difficult not to go to others. The framework of the event is the same every month, but the content is always changing. You'll never see the same thing twice."

"Oooh, now this thing has high expectations to meet. Better not disappoint, Agent McGee." Evelyn was nearly vibrating in excitement at the idea. Tim laughed at her enthusiasm.

"I doubt I will."

* * *

"Would the two of you like to purchase identification wrist bands? They're $3 each." The man at the main entrance inquired as Tim and Evelyn checked in to get a map of the main conference floor.

"Sure." Tim handed over a $10 bill to cover both of their wrist bands while Evelyn looked over the event list for the evening, checking her watch to see what was still available to do and see.

"Ooo! Timothy, there's a Batman exhibit going on right now." Evelyn pointed it out on the list as the greeter handed over Tim's change. The man gave him a knowing grin before addressing the next people in line. Tim snorted as he guided Evelyn further into the building. "We'd only be catching the last half hour, though. There's also an X-Men trivia contest going on. Those both sound interesting. Which should we check out?"

"You said you wanted fast paced. The trivia contest will offer that. No doubt they'll be going through questions quickly. The people doing that will make us feel how Tony feels around us." Evelyn could barely contain her laughter, lightly smacking Tim on the arm.

"Timothy, that's bad." She pseudo scolded. He gave her an innocent look.

"What?" Evelyn shook her head in terribly contained amusement, turning her attention back to the list. Smirking, Tim took her left hand and put her wrist band on for her. "There we go. Now which do you want to do?"

Evelyn bit her lip in indecision. Both choices were extremely enticing to her inner geek. It was like trying to compare Star Wars and Star Trek.

"Let's go to the Batman exhibit. I mean, it's  _Batman_." She reasoned, trying to justify her choice more to herself than Tim. He just smiled and shrugged.

"Whichever you want, Evelyn." Evelyn pouted at Tim's noncommittal reply.

"Some participation on your part would be nice." She commented as she started to pull him in the direction of the Batman exhibit.

"I suggested coming here in the first place. I already know everything is going to be awesome. What else do you want from me?" Tim jabbed back with a laugh.

Evelyn chose to remain silent the rest of the way, occasionally looking over her shoulder at Tim before shaking her head with a roll of her eyes and turning back forward. Tim found this quite amusing but felt it was in his best interest not to mention anything about it. Unlike Tony, he knew when to keep his mouth shut.

As the two of them entered the exhibit area, Evelyn's gait slowed dramatically. She dropped Tim's arm to look around in wonder at all the drawings, paintings, miniatures, and replicas everyone had made. There were even a few racks of costumes that fans had made by hand, with quality materials, stitch by painstaking stitch. This was stuff that clearly rivaled the professionals.

"Just... _wow_." Evelyn let out as her eyes darted between pieces of art work. "I knew there were people who liked to put quality into their hobbies but I didn't think there would be so many Batman fans in the D.C. area who are like that."

"You'd be surprised." Tim commented as he followed behind Evelyn from table to table. "Also, people here aren't just from the D.C. area. Many are only here for the weekend, on vacation. Friends tell friends, who tell friends. This thing may not be well known but it's certainly worth a plane ticket to some people."

"Just...wow." Evelyn repeated. Something caught her attention in the corner of her eye, making her suddenly grab Tim again and drag him to a table. A young man, about late 20's, was animatedly speaking with a few other fans who stood on the other side of his table.

"It only takes me about a month to create the smaller sized replicas. Those are the ones you can hold in your hand. Medium sized ones are for display on a table top or something similar, and those can take me anywhere between two to four months to create. The larger ones can take me up to a year to build. I've only done two of those, for obvious reasons." The man explained to a small group of guys. Evelyn sidled up to the group of guys, leaving Tim to stand behind her.

"So do you only do replicas by request or do you do some just for the fun of it?" One of the older guys in the group asked.

"I usually get enough requests to keep me busy during the time I set aside for building replicas. I always warn people that, while my build-time estimate is pretty accurate, my day job's gotta allow me that time. That pretty much guarantees that I will always have at least one project going at all times because people want to make sure I get their request done by the time they need it. But I will occasionally schedule extra projects. Especially the popular ones." Evelyn picked up one of the replicas in question to look it over, fascinated by the young man's workmanship. There was a carving on the bottom of the item, she noticed, that made it clear to whoever reading it that the item was merely a replica made for enjoyment purposes only. The man certainly covered all his bases.

"Do you personalize anything?" Tim spoke up, interested.

"It depends on what the personalization is and the size of the requested object, but I generally do it. I have no reason to say no." Tim nodded, leaning forward around Evelyn to pick up one of the man's business cards.

"Sounds like a great idea for a friend of mine. He's a movie buff and would adore to see his name on a prop, even if it is only a replica." Evelyn smirked as Tim explained his question. From what little she knew of Tony, the Italian man would  _freak_  if presented with a movie prop replica with his name literally on it.

"Well, simply email in your request when you figure out what it is you'd like and I'll give you a time and cost estimate as soon as I can."

"Will do." Tim smiled as he slipped the card into his inside breast pocket. Letting out a giggle, Evelyn prodded Tim into moving onto the next table.

"How very sweet of you, thinking of Tony. I'm glad to see that your bromantic relationship with him is healthy." Tim groaned at Evelyn's description.

"You seriously did  _not_  just describe my relationship with Tony as 'bromantic'."

"I calls it as I sees it." Evelyn shot back with a smirk.

"I don't care. I don't ever want to hear the term romance even remotely associated with me and Tony." Tim let out a shudder at the thought, pulling a laugh from his date. "It's just...wrong."

"Fine, you big baby. No romance with Tony." Tim rolled his eyes at Evelyn's last jab. He glanced around to see where they were in the conference room and to look for one specific door.

"I'll be right back. Gotta use the rest room." Evelyn nodded as Tim broke away. She roamed from table to table in the Batman exhibit area as she waited, still amazed that there was something like this right in D.C. Evelyn thought back over the various discussions about Batman that she and Tim had had in the past month and a half. Admittedly, they both only had a minor attraction to the fandom. They certainly couldn't contend with most of the fans here at the event. But there  _was_  a certain quality to it that pulled them in.

A table near the far end of the exhibit area caught Evelyn's attention. Glancing at her watch to make sure she had enough time before Tim made his way back, she darted over to it to speak with the woman sitting there. After an enthusiastic conversation and an exchange of information, Evelyn made her way back to where Tim left her just in time for his return. The expression on her face made Tim raise an eyebrow.

"Why do you look like the cat that caught the canary?" Evelyn shrugged innocently.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Timothy. Are you going to tell me what this so-called 'secret' date plan is?"

"I'll tell you when we get there." Tim placated. He may be good in the interrogation room, but sometimes he just had to go with the flow. "Come check out this one booth I saw on the way back. All the art looks air-brushed. I remember you mentioning you liked to decorate your office with that style of art."

"Yeah. The style is very calming." Evelyn explained with a laugh as Tim guided her to the table in question.

* * *

Evelyn couldn't stop grinning as Tim pressed himself against her back, reaching up to adjust her hands.

"Now loosen your grip a bit. You don't want to squeeze too hard." He whispered into her ear.

"Ok..." Evelyn's hands squirmed under Tim's slightly, making the object in them fit more comfortably.

"Now, don't believe what you see in the movies. Keep both eyes open." Tim instructed. "And don't get over-excited."

"I don't think I could make myself less excited if I tried, Timothy, but I'll try to keep it from affecting my performance." Evelyn whispered back over her shoulder. Getting an amused snort in response, she turned her attention back to what was in front of her and pulled the trigger. The bullet shot through the target half an inch from the center.

"Good shot!" Tim exclaimed over the sounds of all the others at the shooting range. "For a beginner you have excellent aim."

"Don't get over-excited." Evelyn mocked back with a smirk. "It may just be beginner's luck."

"Shoot again, then." Tim insisted, stepping away from Evelyn. She pouted at the loss before inhaling sharply and taking aim again. The next bullet was about an inch out, on the opposite side of the bulls eye. Evelyn pulled the trigger a few more times to create a cluster of holes near the center of the target, never quite hitting the bulls eye but also never going out further than two inches from it. "Damn. I should bring you here more often. With targets like those, you should apply to FLECT in a few years."

"You think?" Evelyn dropped her arms as she turned around to face Tim. He smiled at her.

"Definitely. Agencies will be fighting to get you. A profiler with computer expertise? Your collection of skills are few and far between. You'd get your pick going in." Smirking, Evelyn handed the Sig over to Tim.

"Then show me why I should be interested in NCIS." Tim took the gun from Evelyn with an amused expression and switched places with her. Evelyn leaned against the side of their stall as her smirk morphed into a grin. She may have been excited to get the chance to shoot a gun, herself, but watching Tim in action was definitely the highlight of her evening. And it was over way to quickly for her as Tim's experience had him go through the rest of the clip in only a few seconds. Evelyn held in her frown as Tim fiddled with the controls to get their target back.

"Good enough, or do I need to show you more?" Tim shot Evelyn a smug look as he handed their target over, all his shots clustered inside hers. Evelyn drew her answer out by carefully looking over the target as if she was actually considering his question.

"I don't know, Mr. Law Enforcement. I may need you to go through another clip." Evelyn held in a laugh as she handed the target back over. Tim snorted and opened his mouth to say something, but they were interrupted by a passing man who was carrying a small pile of used up targets.

"McGee! I didn't know you were hitting the range tonight. I thought you and the rest of Team Gibbs had a case." Tim turned to the man, smiling when he recognized him.

"Erikson! Um, no, we don't actually have a case at the moment. Gibbs is having us work on a few cold ones."

"Ah. And who is this lovely lady?" Erikson asked as he turned his attention to Evelyn. She smiled at him as she reached her hand out to shake his offered one. "Hey, weren't you at the Yard earlier this morning?"

"This is Dr. Evelyn Brant." Tim introduced her. "And, yes. She was at the Yard this morning. She installed some computer equipment for us."

"And McGee here is bringing you to the shooting range?" Erikson asked Evelyn with a bemused expression. Tim rolled his eyes as Evelyn nodded enthusiastically.

"Yep. We got our geek on earlier, so now he's showing me some of the exciting parts of being in law enforcement." A look of understanding appeared on Erikson's face before it turned mischievous.

"So I'm interrupting a  _date_. I'm sorry, McGee. I didn't mean to do that."

"It's not a problem." Tim said, not believing the guilty tone Erikson used. He could see the glint in Erikson's eye that said the office scuttlebutt was going to hear about this the next morning. Just  _perfect_.

"Well, I better get going then. Let you two love birds have at it. See you at the Yard, McGee." Evelyn burst into giggles once Erikson was out of ear shot, unable to contain herself any longer. Tim let out a sigh he normally used with Tony, shaking his head.

"Laugh it up. It's you he's going to be talking about at work tomorrow."

"I know. But I don't have to face it. You do." Evelyn stuck her tongue out at Tim, letting out a yelp when he suddenly grabbed her and spun her around to hold her from behind.

"Now, I could easily wrestle you into submission for your cheek, Dr. Brant. What's your response to that?" Tim raised an eyebrow at Evelyn as he looked at her over her shoulder. She gave him a stubborn look and made a half attempt to get loose.

"I  _dare_  you to try your worst." Evelyn hissed playfully. Smirking, Tim shook his head and let her go.

"Too many witnesses, at the moment." Feeling daring, Evelyn stuck her tongue out at him again. Tim rolled his eyes and turned to load a second clip in the Sig. "I'll go ahead and do one more clip for you, but you're doing the last clip we got all by yourself."

"The entire thing?" Evelyn asked hesitantly as Tim sent out a clean target.

"You've already proven that you have decent aim. Why not the whole clip?"

"I don't know. I just didn't expect you to say I had to do a whole one by myself." Tim motioned for Evelyn to return to her place at the side of the stall.

"Just remember everything I explained and you'll be fine." He assured her. "Once the safety rules become second nature to you, it really is just point and shoot. You do everything else without realizing it."

"But I  _don't_  do all the safety stuff automatically." Evelyn frowned.

"Evelyn, relax. I'll adjust your form as you go through the clip. I won't let you make any unnecessary mistakes."

"If you say so..." Evelyn trailed off. Giving her a look, Tim shook his head and chose to ignore that comment. It was a mindset he had, himself, when he was just a beginner. Turning back to the target and retaking his shooting stance from before, Tim quickly went through all the available bullets in the clip in an efficient manner. Evelyn watched on with wonder and the beginnings of a smile. Yes, this was definitely her favorite part of the night. She stepped forward the moment Tim set the Sig down on the table to call back the target. "So, how often do you come here, anyway?"

"Tony and I usually come here once a month. Occasionally Ziva comes with, if she's in the mood to deal with us." Tim answered with a snicker. He glanced over the target briefly to assess how he did before setting it aside on top of their shared target and setting up a blank one for Evelyn. "Gibbs learned quickly not to come with if he wanted peace and quiet."

"You and Tony are quite competitive, I take it?" Tim snorted.

"What was your first clue?" He exchanged the empty clip for their last full one and handed the Sig over to Evelyn. "Your turn, now."

"All of it?" Evelyn double-checked, wary expression on her face.

"Yes, all of it." Tim confirmed without mercy. He guided her into a shooting stance, like before, but stepped away as soon as he was finished. "Just give yourself time between each shot to re-aim and you'll do fine."

"If I end up shooting another person's target, I'm blaming you." Evelyn warned him. She took a few deep breaths before starting, putting all of her focus on the target in front of her. Tim's eyes jumped from point to point in Evelyn's stance, making sure her form remained correct with each passing shot. When Evelyn neared the end of the clip, Tim relaxed against the side of the stall and stopped checking her stance to simply watch her. It still amazed him sometimes that someone as intelligent and complex as Evelyn could be so entertained by relatively simple things, like target practice. When the Sig started clicking empty, Tim stepped forward to recall Evelyn's target back to them.

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" He poked with a chuckle. Evelyn rolled her eyes and handed the Sig back over to Tim.

"Yeah. Easy as jello." She turned her head to look at her target as it finally arrived at their stall. Evelyn's eyes widened in amazement when they focused on three bullet holes in the Bull's Eye. Tim grinned when he saw them, himself, detaching the paper and handing it over to Evelyn.

"I'd say that's worth taking home to Mom and Dad." Evelyn gaped like a goldfish in disbelief. Laughing at her expression, Tim tidied up the stall and started guiding them to the main office to return the borrowed equipment they checked out.

* * *

Tim checked his watch as he escorted Evelyn to her apartment door.

"Sorry for keeping you so late. I don't normally stay out after midnight on a school night." Evelyn waved off Tim's apology with a laugh.

"Timothy, I had so much fun tonight that it was worth it." She raised the bag she was carrying full of purchases she had made at the pseudo convention, also motioning to the picture and target Tim was carrying for her. "I never would have gotten such amazing stuff if I hadn't gone out tonight. I rarely get the chance to truly be  _geeky_  like I can be with you. And going to the shooting range to shoot an actual gun? Indescribable!"

"Well, I'm glad you had such a great time, Evelyn." Tim let out a smile. "Does that mean I can convince you to go out another time?"

"I don't know. Can't you?" Evelyn gave him a mischievous look as they arrived at her door. Letting out a giggle at Tim's expectant look as he stayed silent at her jab, Evelyn dug in her purse for her keys. "Yes, Timothy. I would definitely say I want to go out again."

"Excellent. Just don't give me a specific date right now so Tony can't interrogate it out of me tomorrow." Evelyn's giggles grew into laughter as she swung her door open and stepped in, dumping her bag and purse on a nearby table. Tim set her artwork and target down against the wall next to the door, not fully crossing the threshold. Sensing Tim's actions, Evelyn turned around with a soft smile.

"You've been in my apartment multiple times, Timothy."

"Different circumstances." He insisted with a shake of his head. Evelyn kept her mouth shut, knowing she couldn't argue with that. Inhaling sharply, she walked forward and went back into the hallway with Tim. They both remained silent for a few moments as their adrenaline high from the entire night finally withered away into a deep sense of calm.

"I really did have a great time tonight, Timothy." Evelyn repeated. "Definitely a lot more fun than what I expected I was going to be having when I woke up this morning."

"Glad to make your evening exceed your expectations. You certainly deserve a lot more than what you  _did_  expect." A slight blush appeared on Evelyn's face, a blush Tim hadn't pulled out of her since the writer's convention. Smirking slightly at his small achievement, Tim started to fiddle with his tie. He jumped slightly in surprise when Evelyn smacked his hands away from it and fixed it with a few small tugs back and forth to center it. Evelyn's hands ran down Tim's shirt to flatten out the wrinkles she inadvertently created, making Tim's gut clench and his mouth go dry at the unexpected contact.

"If you fiddle with your clothes, Timothy, you'll stretch them out well before you've gotten full use out of them." Evelyn scolded lightly in a quiet voice. "And a well tailored suit is to women what lingerie is to men. You'll want them to last."

"Understood." Tim placated in a whisper, the knots in his stomach refusing to go away. Evelyn nodded in approval when she got the last wrinkle out, smirking slightly in triumph. She looked up at Tim as if to say something but trailed off before she began, the smirk fading away to an embarrassed smile.

A pregnant pause filled the air between them before something snapped in Tim and he took the initiative, leaning down to capture Evelyn's lips in a kiss. He took a half step closer to decrease the gap between them, reaching up to cradle Evelyn's head in both of his hands. Evelyn's hands, still on his chest from hunting wrinkles, twitched slightly before sliding up to grab the lapels of his jacket and attempt to pull him even closer. Tim guided Evelyn backwards lightly to push her against the wall and extinguish the last of the space between them. Evelyn let out a whimper at the full-body contact, pulling a groan from Tim in response to the innocent tone of it.

Down the hallway, the stairway door slammed open as one of Evelyn's neighbors loudly returned home with friends, his apartment apparently becoming the place of an after party. Evelyn pulled away from Tim with a yelp at the sudden interruption, pressing herself harder against the wall. Tim let out a heavy sigh, transferring his hands from Evelyn's head to the wall and pushing himself out to arm's length away from her with his head hanging. When the loud group entered their target apartment, ignorant of the two people at the other end of the hallway, Tim finally raised his head to face a blushing Evelyn, who closed her eyes tightly in embarrassment of her neighbor's wild nature.

"He's not normally like that." She hissed out, as if she had to justify the man's actions. Tim snorted and shook his head, leaning forward to kiss Evelyn on the cheek before completely pulling away. Evelyn's eyes popped open to give Tim a slightly confused look when he made no comment about the group.

"Have a good night, Evelyn. I'm glad you had a great time." Evelyn frowned slightly at Tim officially ending their date but accepted that it eventually had to happen. Nodding in agreement that she had fun, Evelyn made a half attempt to straighten out her flustered appearance.

"Yeah. Have a good night, yourself, Timothy. You don't know if you're going to catch a case tomorrow. You'll need all the rest you can get." Tim smiled at Evelyn's consideration of how taxing his job could be and that sleep sometimes turned into a luxury.

"I will. I'll talk with you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow." Evelyn's head bobbed in another nod of agreement. Giving Tim one last blushing smile, she turned and re-entered her apartment. Tim waited until he heard the sound of her deadbolt locking before he started down the hallway to head home.


	11. The Morning After

Tim made it a point to head to work earlier than usual so he would arrive before Tony and Ziva. He was a firm believer of the saying 'a good defense begins with a good offense', especially when it came to those two tag-teaming him. And without a case, Gibbs might just let those two have at him. It wasn't often that  _any_  of them had an honest romantic interest and Gibbs had a twisted sense of humor when he was willing to show it.

He wasn't surprised to see that the lamp at Gibbs' desk was lit up when he arrived at the Yard, nor at the sight of files laid out on his, Tony's, and Ziva's desks. It was obviously a Cold Case day and possible cases to go over had been picked out for all of them. Tim picked up the top file on his desk as he settled onto his chair and flipped it open to review its contents.

"You're in early." Tim looked up, barely restraining a startled reaction at Gibbs' sudden appearance.

"I figured that if I could get working before Tony and Ziva arrive, it would be easier for me to ward off their questions by claiming to be busy." Tim explained with a meek expression.

"Ah. That's right. You had a date with Dr. Brant yesterday." Gibbs let out a small smirk over the rim of his coffee cup before taking a sip, sitting down at his own desk. It was the knowing smirk of a man who had a lot of experience in going on dates with red heads and was getting enjoyment in seeing another man willingly tackle the challenge.

"It went well." Tim supplied, answering the question he knew Gibbs would never ask. Gibbs simply waited for them to share whatever they were willing to share whenever they were willing to share it when it came to their personal lives. "We haven't picked a day, yet, but Evelyn did agree to another date."

"Good for you, McGee." The smirk slipped away as Gibbs congratulated his junior field agent. "Just don't get married, unless you  _want_  to pay alimony."

"I don't think that's going to happen any time soon, Boss. My mother would kill me if I ran off and got married without giving her the chance to attend her first baby's wedding." Tim managed to say through subdued laughter at Gibbs' usual dating advice. He could just see it now. Him calling home from the honeymoon suite to tell his parents they now had a daughter-in-law and his mother finally doing what millions of others wished they could. Going through the phone line to kill someone.

"True." Gibbs relented, not saying anything else on the topic. It was slightly odd for Tim to not have to continue on explaining himself or what he said. He didn't spend that much one-on-one time with Gibbs, now that he thought about it, and made a mental note to address that later.

"I think I'll just focus on figuring out how to introduce Evelyn to  _Sarah_  without inadvertently sparking a 'Pick on Tim' marathon. At least Sarah doesn't have pictures." Tim added, just to get rid of that weird feeling in his stomach from not being pushed for more information, and turned his attention back to the file he was holding. Tim recognized it, it had made its rounds through the various desks of agents here at the Yard, but it was the first time he was the primary agent on it. Hopefully he could provide a view point that others didn't and find something they missed. Turning on his computer on autopilot, Tim put all his focus onto working on the cold case.

* * *

Tim's hands froze over his keyboard when the window he was typing in suddenly became blocked by a new window.

[ **Little Debbie** ] Hey, you on?

Tim's eyes immediately went for his computer's clock to see if he had time to take a break and he was shocked to find out that it was nearly noon. Tony and Ziva had  _actually_  left him alone. That didn't mean he was safe from being interrogated, not by a long shot, but it meant he had a chance of keeping them away at least until after work. Figuring he had more than enough time for a break, Tim moved his cursor to the IM window with a quick flick of his wrist.

[ **Elf Lord** ] I'm nearing my lunch break. Cold case work day. What's up?

[ **Little Debbie** ] I am currently hiding from Paul. He wasn't at all happy to find out that I don't actually have a stalker.

[ **Elf Lord** ] You told him?

[ **Little Debbie** ] No. A coworker did. I didn't hesitate to tell him that I had a lot more fun  _after_  I left than I did while I was with him, but then I ran and now I'm hiding. I don't want him dampening my mood for the entire day.

Tim rose an eyebrow at Evelyn's description of her situation.

[ **Elf Lord** ] I take it that you're in a good mood, then?

[ **Little Debbie** ] Definitely. I came in to work a bit early this morning so I could put up my air brushed artwork in my office. It looks so nice behind my desk. I think I may consider switching to psychology full time just so I can look at it more often.

Tim knew Evelyn was joking about turning psychologist full time, but that didn't stop him from laughing out loud at the absurdity of the idea. He paused when his actions registered in his head and looked around, a bit embarrassed. Gibbs wasn't even in the Bull Pen, and Tony and Ziva made no show of reaction to his laughter. Glad he wasn't going to be questioned on his actions at the moment, Tim turned back to his computer.

[ **Elf Lord** ] You'd get bored. Don't deny it.

[ **Little Debbie** ] Oh, you don't need to tell me that. I love fooling around with computers too much. That isn't going to stop me from daydreaming of a permanent work space all my own.

[ **Elf Lord** ] But you already have an office...

[ **Little Debbie** ] Trust me. It just isn't the same when it's not a full time job. Surely you remember what it's like, from Norfolk. Having an office all your own that you could escape to whenever you wanted.

[ **Elf Lord** ] I didn't have an office at Norfolk. I had an oversized filing cabinet with a phone line and internet access.

[ **Little Debbie** ] Pity.

That single word answer told Tim that the red head on the other end of the conversation was smirking at her computer in amusement. Rolling his eyes, Tim barely restrained himself from sticking his tongue out at his own computer screen.

[ **Elf Lord** ] Bite me.

[ **Little Debbie** ] Where, when, and how hard would you like me to? I'm open to suggestions.

[ **Elf Lord** ] Hey! Don't forget which of us is the one carrying handcuffs.

[ **Little Debbie** ] Don't make promises you won't be willing to keep.

Tim's jaw went slack as he lost that round of bickering as quickly as it had started. He was grateful that Abby and Tony had long since made him immune to innuendo. His face would surely be a deep crimson in response to Evelyn's winning statement if they hadn't. Swallowing hard, Tim adjusted his posture before replying.

[ **Elf Lord** ] Alright, then I won't. If you're busy hiding then how are you working?

[ **Little Debbie** ] Nice redirect. It's actually pretty easy to hide from Paul. He doesn't know where my office is. The man is arrogant enough that he never bothered to learn.

[ **Elf Lord** ] Then you're not actually hiding. You're simply working.

[ **Little Debbie** ] ...party pooper. It sounds more fun when I say I'm hiding. But I guess you could say that. I've been going over code without interruption since I left Paul fuming in the lobby. It's actually been pretty nice.

[ **Elf Lord** ] I've been safe from Tony and Ziva, myself. They haven't said a word to me all day. I couldn't tell you if Gibbs shot them any looks when they arrived because I wasn't paying attention, but it's been a luxury being able to work in peace.

[ **Little Debbie** ] Nice. Though you don't honestly think they'll leave you alone forever, do you?

[ **Elf Lord** ] Nope. But I'll take what I can get when it comes to those two.

[ **Little Debbie** ] You could run away. Disappear for a weekend. Get in the car and start driving without looking back.

Tim snorted in amusement. If only it were that easy. If it were, he would do it in an instant. Though he wouldn't be against kidnapping Evelyn and bringing her with if it was an option.

[ **Elf Lord** ] Which would work...if I didn't work with professional investigators. They'd make easy work of finding me.

[ **Little Debbie** ] Then I laugh at your misery and general irritations.

[ **Elf Lord** ] Remind me to never leave you alone with my little sister. Ever.

[ **Little Debbie** ] Sure. Take all my fun away. Speaking of fun, though, have you put any thought on a date for our next, well, date?

Tim smiled at his computer screen, his hands paused over his keyboard as he thought over what to say next.

"What are you smiling at, McOccupied?" Tim groaned loudly as he dropped his hands to his lap. He was so  _close_.  _So_  close to going a full morning without being questioned.

"Nothing, Tony. What do you want?" Tim glared at his partner, ignoring the innocent expression Tony was giving him.

"I just wanted to know how the date went last night." Tony's words gained Ziva's attention, who immediately looked up from her work with an interested look.

"It was fine." Tim answered, quickly typing out an answer for Evelyn.

[ **Elf Lord** ] I have next weekend off. We're technically on call, so none of us can do any crazy partying or drinking, but that leaves loads of options open. Perhaps a day or two of getting lost in the tourist traps of D.C.?

"What happened? Your lack of details says something happened." Ziva prodded.

"Zee-va is right, McAvoidance. What happened?" Tony repeated, joining the Israeli in tag teaming Tim.

[ **Little Debbie** ] That's great! I'm not scheduled for next weekend, so I can easily spend a couple days playing tourist. Sounds like a lot of fun.

"Ate dinner, embarrassed myself, got our geeks on. You know, the usual." Tim answered, raising an eyebrow at his coworkers as if to ask if they honestly thought they were going to get more out of him.

"Oh, don't lie to your partners, McGee." Came in an unexpected voice. Tim let out another groan, quieter than before, hanging his head. "You also brought the lovely lady to the shooting range."

"Thank you, Erikson, for sharing." Tim turned to the grinning man with a look of irritation.

"No problem! I just came by to see how the rest of your date went after I ran into you. Please tell me you at least got a good bye kiss out of that fine little vixen." Erikson continued. "I'd ask if your date continued back at her apartment for some more  _fun_ , if you know what I mean, but this is you I'm talking to. You are too gentleman-like to do that on the first date."

"I did with Abby." Tim shot back, both to save his dignity and to get Erikson's focus off Evelyn.

"Wow! So you  _are_  capable of being sleazy. I didn't know that was possible." Erikson snorted. Tim rolled his eyes, returning his attention to his computer for a few quick moments.

[ **Elf Lord** ] Then it's settled. Next weekend, we go annoy the employees at all the tourist traps.

[ **Little Debbie** ] Awesome.

"You'd be surprised what I'm capable of, Erikson." Tim said, looking back up at him. "Everyone seems to underestimate me."

"You're avoiding our questions." Tony whined, pushing himself on his chair from his desk to Tim's. "What are you typing, anyway?"

[ **Little Debbie** ] Damn it, Paul found my office. I'll talk to you later.

[ **Elf Lord** ] Alright. Talk to you later. Good luck finding a new hiding spot.

[ **Little Debbie is offline** ]

Tim quickly closed the chat window before Tony could read anything.

"What I'm typing is none of your business." Tim chided Tony, turning his whole body to face the man.

"Come on. Tell!"

"No." Tim pushed Tony away, making him roll back towards his own desk.

"So, did you get a kiss in or not?" Erikson repeated his question.

"Erikson..." Tim started, giving the man a placating smile. "Kiss my ass and go back to your own desk. I won't be fodder for scuttlebutt."

"Fine. But we'll get the details eventually." Erikson smirked, sending a conspiring wink towards Tony and Ziva before walking away. Rolling his eyes, Tim closed the windows on his computer and set the machine to sleep before getting up and collecting his things from his desk drawer.

"So you took Dr. Brant to the shooting range? How did she do?" Ziva shot up from her seat and came close to Tim, trying the pseudo intimidation option of getting information from him.

"Fine. Yes, I took her to the shooting range. She did fairly well, for a beginner." Tim sighed, heading for the elevator. Ziva and Tony both followed closely behind, shooting off questions.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"How well is fairly well?"

"It's noon. I'm taking my lunch break." Tim answered Tony, deciding it was the lesser of two evils. He pushed the down button for the elevator before turning around to face his partners. "Guys, you two pushed me into asking Evelyn out on a date. We went on a date. What more do you want?"

"Details!" Came in stereo. Hearing the elevator open up behind him, Tim took a step backwards and pushed the button for the bottom floor.

"I don't kiss and tell, guys..."

"So you  _did_  kiss her!" Tony exclaimed. Tim gave his partners a smirk before the elevator doors closed in front of them, cutting off their questioning with a satisfying thunk.


	12. Birthday Plans

**Three Months Later**

"How do you even plan a birthday party for someone turning 19?" Tim dropped his phone back into its cradle with a groan. "I mean, did any of  _us_  even celebrate when we turned 19?"

"I was training for Mossad." Ziva explained succinctly, not looking up from her computer. Tim looked towards Tony, hoping he'd provide some insight.

"Football season, McGee. I had other things to worry about than turning an age that doesn't really mean anything in college." Tony gave Tim a look of pseudo apology. Tim rolled his eyes and turned towards Gibbs, but paused when he remembered that the older man had already joined the Marines by his 19th birthday. Shaking his head in annoyance, Tim opened an internet window on his computer and started typing away in a search engine.

"Didn't Evelyn say she wanted something small, McGee? Why are you getting so worked up?" Ziva asked, finally turning to look at him.

"'Small' doesn't say anything about what to plan. All it says is that she doesn't want that many people there." Tim pointed out. "Evelyn left  _all_ the planning to me, since I was the one who suggested a party in the first place, and now the idea is turning around and biting me in the ass. Why didn't I suggest a night out together?"

"Don't know, McGee. Why didn't you?" Gibbs inserted, smirking over his coffee. He was finding great amusement in the woes of his junior agent. Frowning at his boss, knowing he couldn't say anything, Tim remained silent and turned back to his computer.

"Well, McPlanner, what did  _you_  do for your 19th birthday?" Tony asked, putting in a half-effort to help. The frown on Tim's face deepened at the question.

"I was studying. I had three exams the next day." Tony, himself, frowned at that.

"Ok, bad example. What about Abby? Have you asked her for any pointers?"

"I want to  _keep_  my girlfriend, Tony." Tim gave Tony an 'Are you kidding me?' look. They all had quickly learned that, while they both had outgoing personalities, Abby and Evelyn did  _not_  have the same definition of fun. Blood was nearly drawn when Abby tried to convince Evelyn to go clubbing with her and Ziva.

"Good point..." Tony admitted. "You know, McGee, I'm beginning to wonder why you always fall for the violent ones."

"I don't know. Why do you?" Tim shot back automatically, ignoring the glare he received. He frowned at the search results he got and typed in a few new keywords. "This is going to drive me crazy. It's the 18th. Her birthday is on the 23rd. How can  _anyone_  plan a party in that amount of time, even if it is a small one?"

"McGee, just call Evelyn and  _ask_  her what she wants." Ziva insisted. "If you beg for mercy I am sure she'll grant it."

"You make it sound like she's torturing me." Tim made a scrunched up expression.

"You just said planning her party is driving you crazy. Is that not a form of torture?" Ziva looked confused, turning to Tony for clarification. The Italian man started chuckling, shaking his head in amusement.

"Zee-va has you there, McVictim. Call Debbie, beg, and she'll put you out of your misery. It's the only option you have left, really, if you think about it. She's had you twisted around her little finger since you two met."

"I am not whipped!" Tim immediately spat in self defense, causing his two partners to burst into laughter. He glared at them as he picked his phone back up, admitting to himself that they weren't exactly wrong about straight out asking Evelyn what she wanted. Punching the speed dial for her office phone, Tim sighed and held the phone up to his ear to wait.

" _Dr. Brant's office._ " Evelyn answered in a bored tone. Tim let out a snort.

"Well, don't sound so enthused."

" _Sorry_." Evelyn sighed. " _Today has been amazingly boring. Paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork. I didn't even_ want _to transfer to the Pysch Department full time. Why do I_ _have to be the one to fill out all the transfer papers?_ "

"Because you're just so good at it?"

" _Funny..._ " Tim let out a laugh.

"I'm sorry, Doll. HR can be cruel like that. How about something to get your mind off of the paperwork?"

" _Anything! I'm close to just burning the pile of it. We have an incinerator. I can do it._ " Evelyn threatened.

"Just tell me what you want to do for your birthday. I have no idea what to do." Tim said in what was most certainly not a whine. The red head on the other end of the line let out a storm of giggles.

" _Are you really having that much trouble planning a simple birthday party?_ "

"Yes. And I have discovered that everyone on my team, including myself, had a comparatively boring 19th birthday. It's no use asking them for ideas. So what would you like?" Tim pulled his note pad towards him and grabbed a pen with his free hand.

" _Alright, fine. I'll help. Geek it up. I wanna see a video game reference on that ice cream cake._ "

"Anything in particular?"

" _The 1 Up mushroom from Mario Brothers. Lots of the green jelly stuff they use for decorating._ " Evelyn provided with enthusiasm. Tim let out a few chuckles as he wrote out her request.

"Duly noted. Is there a specific  _place_  you would like this to be held at?" There was a pause at the end of the line. "Evelyn?"

" _Between your friends and mine, there should be about fourteen people coming. Right?_ " Tim did a little mental math to figure out how many people were in both groups, combined.

"Yeah. Fourteen people. Your parents won't be coming until the beginning of August. Why?"

" _I can't think of any place that would be big enough to fit fourteen people comfortably. At least, not any place that isn't somehow work related. I don't think it'd be a good idea to_ _throw a party where autopsies are regularly performed."_ Evelyn admitted.

"Yeah. Definitely no where like that. The weather will be nice, though. How about doing it outside?" Tim suggested.

" _Why not Rock Creek Park? That way, if you guys gets called in, you all will be right there! Duck and Jimmy can even come in the van._ " Tim groaned loudly, gaining the attention of his coworkers. Rolling his eyes at their expressions, Tim pulled the phone away from his ear and covered the bottom.

"Evelyn is suggesting Rock Creek Park, so we're all right there if we get called in."

"Smart girl." Gibbs commented with a look of approval. Tony and Ziva let out more snickers. Tim ignored them and put the phone back up to his ear.

"Now, serious answer."

" _I'm being serious. I know you guys get called there for a body all the time, but that doesn't change the fact that it is a beautiful park. Could get burgers, brats, and steaks to grill. Bring a variety of outside games. I'd love to see Tony and Seeley go one-on-one in basket ball. Hell, I'd_ pay _to see that. They're the two most macho men I know._ " Evelyn rambled on, trying to convince Tim to go with Rock Creek Park. Tim felt his will beginning to crumble at the pleading tone in Evelyn's voice and knew when he was beat.

"Fine. It'll be at Rock Creek Park. Grill out party with an ice cream cake. I don't know if that's appropriate for a 19th birthday, but you and I will definitely be doing something more personal later on. How does that sound?"

" _Sounds nice. Do I get to help plan with_ that _, or are you gonna keep it secret?_ "

"You could do with a little suspense in your life, so I'm not telling. Just tell your friends at work that the party will be on the 22nd. A day early, I know, but I'm gonna be selfish and refuse to share you the day of your birthday." Tim said. A hum of acknowledgment came over the line.

" _Alright. I shouldn't be doing anything else today other than filling out paperwork, so when I'm done I'll come by your place and start making supper. Any requests?_ "

"Nope. Surprise me."

" _Fine. I will. Talk to you later. Get some adventure in today, since I officially gotta live vicariously now. Buh-bye._ "

"Bye." Tim laughed, placing his phone back onto the cradle.

"Got enough ideas?" Tony prodded with his usual nosiness.

"Yes. Grill out at Rock Creek Park. You and Special Agent Booth both get to entertain Evelyn with your athletic prowess." Tim threw Tony a smirk. "It's non-negotiable. Birthday girl's orders."

"That shall be interesting." Ziva joined in with a smirk of her own. "Agent Booth is closer to your age than Tony's, is he not?"

"Yep. He's only a couple years older than me. Plays hockey and basketball with some regularity. Tony's going to have to earn his ego with Agent Booth." Tim confirmed through a few chuckles. Tony gave both of his partners put-out looks and turned to his paperwork with a pseudo pout. "Oh, get over it, Tony. You know you're Evelyn's favorite Special Agent."

"I know, but still..." Tim rolled his eyes at Tony's whining, pulling his own paperwork back towards him now that his impromptu break was over.

"Just be happy we have the middle of the week off since we're covering for Balbosa's team this weekend, Tony. If we had to work on Wednesday then you'd be exhausted by the time the party would start. Booth would have no trouble kicking your ass, then." Tim barely ducked in time as Tony's Mighty Mouse stapler came flying through the air. Chuckling at his partner's irritation, Tim swiped the stapler up off the floor and threw it back with a satisfying thunk on Tony's torso. "And you claimed to have played basketball in college."

"And a football player." Ziva injected. Not used to being ganged up on, Tony gave them both glares and turned all of his focus on his paperwork. Exchanging amused expressions, Tim and Ziva returned to their own work before Gibbs could yell at them.


	13. Returning Home

Tim's keys jangled as he unlocked his apartment door. It was only when Tim stepped in and closed the door behind him that he realized Jethro wasn't at the door to greet him with his usual doggie exuberance. Twisting the deadbolt into the locked position, Tim tossed his keys onto his kitchen counter before making his way to his bedroom. Perhaps Jethro accidentally locked himself in the bathroom. The sight before him when he reached the door frame, though, had Tim freezing.

"You know, I'm beginning to doubt your reason for dating me." He retorted to the woman sprawled out on his bed, Jethro firmly snuggled up against her with her free arm thrown over him. She laughed as she lifted her arm to wave at Tim.

"And just what has you saying that?" Evelyn asked, laying her arm back on top of Jethro.

"You snuggle with my dog more than you do me." Tim shook his head in amusement, continuing on to his closet after kicking his shoes off. He made quick work of removing his tie, methodically undoing all the buttons down the front of his shirt as he began changing out of his work attire.

"Dearest me! You have discovered my true intentions!" Evelyn cried out dramatically, earning an irritated sigh from Jethro for her sudden exclamation. "I am using you to get to this adorable furry face curled up on the bed with me."

"Yeah. I thought so." Tim muttered with a chuckle. Throwing his shirt into his hamper, Tim moved onto changing into a pair of jeans.

"How can I not? Jethro knows how to work the Puppy Eyes." Evelyn giggled. She drew her legs up to curl her body around Jethro, watching Tim as he pulled a t-shirt on.

"Spoiled." Tim muttered as he made his way to the bed, though Evelyn wasn't quite sure if he meant her or the dog. Smirking at her, Tim stretched out on the bed as well, Jethro between them. "So, how was work today? Finish all your transfer paperwork?"

"Unfortunately." Evelyn frowned. "This means I won't be working any more cases with the Medico-Legal Lab unless my presence is requested. Angela assures me that she'll be calling me in frequently to adjust her babies, but it's gonna be weird being stuck to a desk my whole day."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. You said you were only going to stay there a few years until you were old enough to apply to FLETC, after all." Tim placated her, reaching a hand over Jethro to caress up and down her arm.

"I know. I'm just lamenting the loss of constant entertainment. Booth and Brennan are priceless. Kinda like Tony and Ziva." Evelyn let out a yawn, nuzzling Jethro's face. The dog gave her a lick, moving his own head closer to hers.

"Tony and Ziva exude sexual tension more than anyone I know. I don't think Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan can compete." Tim chuckled, sitting back up. "They're a very close second, though."

"Point taken."

"Have you had dinner yet?" Tim asked as he swung his legs off his bed to stand up.

"No. I've been cuddling with Jethro since he and I returned from his walk. Been waiting for you to get home." Evelyn answered. She let out a heavy sigh before sitting up as well, making Jethro groan from his now lack of cuddles. "I'm starting to get tired, though, so perhaps nothing too complex to make."

"Do you want me to order pizza or Chinese?" Tim gave his girlfriend a smile, knowing a short phone call was literally her definition of a simple meal.

"Piiiiiiizzaaaaaaaa..." Evelyn dragged the word out, crawling across the bed and rising up to kneel in front of Tim to put her arms around his neck. "It's been a while since we had pizza."

"Pizza it is." Tim wrapped his own arms around her waist, pulling her closer to drop a kiss on her mouth before pulling away. Evelyn smirked slightly as Tim walked away, towards the phone to place their usual order, and got off the bed completely to go see what Tim's refrigerator held in terms of drinks.


	14. The Birthday Party, Part One

Evelyn stretched out on a picnic table as ordered as Tim set up the portable generator and travel electric cooler so they could keep the ice cream cake frozen until dessert. She mindlessly reached out with a hand to scratch behind one of Jethro's ears when the dog let out a whine, throwing her other arm over her face to block out the sun.

"You really should put on some sunblock, Evelyn." Tim called over as he worked.

"I will when you're done. I'm gonna need your help with my back." She replied, not moving an inch. Gone was her usual professional wear, the summer heat chasing her into a pair of mini shorts and a bikini top. A flimsy, old button up shirt of Tim's that had certainly seen better days was currently the only thing between the majority of Evelyn's body and the sun. She only wore it so she could go with Tim to do last minute shopping without getting strange looks from the other customers, but Evelyn intended to remove the article of clothing once the party started. She was more concerned about keeping cool than being seen prancing about Rock Creek Park barely clad with a group of people who were a generation older than she was.

"I'll be finished in a moment."

"Take your time." Evelyn's utter lack of enthusiasm had Tim looking over at her in sympathy. He had learned the hard way that Evelyn and heat did not mix well. She had stayed at his apartment when the people above her had some remodeling done and his window air conditioner happened to be broken at the same time. Evelyn's restless sleeping left him sore in a few places from the occasional kick or hit, but Tim made sure not to tell her. Her inability to tolerate the heat was bad enough. He wasn't going to make her feel guilty on top of that.

"So, how are the love birds?" A voice spoke up loudly, making Evelyn finally remove her arm from her face and turn her head towards the speaker.

"Hodgins. My boyfriend carries a gun and currently has at least four knives on his person. Do you really wanna crack jokes?" Tim let out a chuckle as he turned the generator on before getting up and walking over to the picnic table Evelyn was on. He smiled in greeting to Jack Hodgins and Zack Addy, the first two people to show up for the party.

"Good point." Hodgins replied in a dramatic tone, giving Tim a critical look.

"Hello, Dr. Brant. Happy early birthday." Zack inserted in an awkward tone. Evelyn gave him a smile, finally sitting up.

"Thank you, Zack. You'll be happy to know that we made sure to get some mac and cheese." She motioned towards the collection of food she and Tim had gotten that morning. Zack smiled uneasily in thanks, but Evelyn took what she could get from the socially ignorant young man. Hodgins would step in if Zack was about to commit a SNAFU.

"You two are, obviously, the first to show up." Tim spoke up. "That means you can help with the set up."

"Absolutely! Debbie's the birthday girl. She shouldn't be working." Hodgins agreed, clapping his hands in excitement.

"The portable grills I bought are over there." Tim pointed in the direction of their supplies. "Set them up while I help Evelyn with her sunblock."

On cue, Evelyn bent over to grab her bag and took out her bottle of 100+ SPF.

"Right-o." Hodgins nodded, grabbing Zack's arm and pulling him in the direction of the supplies. Shaking his head at the two men, Tim joined Evelyn on the picnic table with a twirl of his finger to get her to turn around. She undid the two buttons that were keeping his shirt on her, balling it up before throwing it at her bag.

"You have definitely got the most sensitive skin of anyone I know." He muttered, squirting some sunblock onto one of his hands. "And that's saying something."

"It's a curse. Believe me." Evelyn squirmed when Tim started rubbing the cold sunblock onto her back without warming it up first.

"No perfumes. No dyes. To tell you the truth, Evelyn, I love it." Tim paused in his rubbing to lean forward and press his chin onto her shoulder. "It keeps you natural. Just you."

Evelyn let out a giggle when Tim pressed a kiss onto her cheek before leaning back to continue applying the sunblock. She squeezed out a little onto her own hands to start putting it onto her arms.

"Yeah. My clothes get to smell pretty, since I can put body spray on them, but I get stuck with whatever scent my skin-safe body wash is."

"Pomegranate is definitely you, Evelyn. Don't knock it just because you're stuck with it." Tim chuckled.

"And my shampoo and conditioner?" Evelyn leaned back into Tim, tilting her head back to look up at him and give him a mischievous smile. He lowered his face into her hair, taking in a deep breath.

"Wild Cherry Blossom is quickly becoming my favorite scent." Tim murmured into her hair, pulling another giggle from her.

"Awww...aren't you two just adorable?" Tim's smile formed into a frown at the interruption. Evelyn groaned as she leaned forward again, pulling a groan from Tim as well.

"Anthony, shove it." Evelyn snapped. The Italian man pointedly ignored her glare, grinning at the both of them. Ziva stood next to him with a similar look of amusement.

"I must say, Evelyn, that has to be the most revealing clothing I have ever seen you wear." Ziva commented as she approached the picnic table, sitting on the bench near Evelyn.

"It's hot out. I don't want to be baked before I get my ice cream cake." Evelyn tugged at the bottom seam of her shorts as she rationalized her choice of clothing with a frown.

"I am not disagreeing with your decision to wear what you are wearing, Evelyn." Ziva motioned to her own khaki shorts and deep blue tank top. "I am merely saying that it is nice to see you in something other than professional wear. The rest of us rarely see you in anything other than what you wear to work."

"I know and I'm sorry for assuming. It's this bloody heat..." Evelyn's statement was punctuated with a squirm when Tim smeared another glob of cold sunblock on her back, this time covering the lower half.

"I'm sure you're not complaining about Debbie's choice in clothing, either, McVoyeur." Tony smirked at Tim, sitting down across from Ziva. Tim threw a glare in Tony's direction but didn't lift his hands from rubbing the sunblock into Evelyn's back.

"As Evelyn stated to Hodgins just a couple minutes ago, Tony, I have at least four knives on me at this moment in time. Do you really want to be your usual, irritating self?" Evelyn and Ziva shared giggles at Tony's surprised expression.

"Why, Tim! Was that a threat that just escaped? I didn't realize you had it in you!" Tony's expression turned into a mixture of amusement and pride, apparently approving of the end result his corrupting of Tim had made.

"People pay when they underestimate me..." Tim grumbled, turning his attention back to applying the sunblock to Evelyn's skin.

"I am sure Anthony would never do such a thing." Evelyn spoke up just as Tim finished, scooting herself around to face him. "He was worked with you long enough to know what you're capable of."

"Don't be too sure." Tim smirked before pulling one of Evelyn's legs onto his lap to continue his ministrations, throwing her sandal in the direction of his old button up instead of setting it down on the table. "I'm still full of surprises."

Evelyn erupted into another burst of giggles, leaning back onto her outstretched hands. Tim pulling her leg into his lap put her off balance.

"We all are quickly discovering that, McGee." Ziva leaned forward, setting her chin in her hands with her elbows set on the table. "I do hope to be there when you reveal just how manipulative and sadistic you can be."

"Do not tempt him, Zee-va." Tony hissed across the table. He remembered his and Tim's conversation in his Mustang the day they crashed Evelyn's date before Tim took it over. Tim was a wolf in sheep's clothing and was perfectly of lashing out at people when he wanted to.

"I am not tempting McGee with anything, Tony. I am simply expressing my desire to witness the event when he shows how cruel he can be." Ziva insisted, dropping her hands to the table with a thunk. Evelyn sighed, sensing an oncoming 'debate'.

"Both of you shut it. This is my birthday party. I don't want to deal with any undo sexual tension between you two." Tim pursed his lips to keep in his laughter when his partners gave Evelyn scandalized looks. He was hoping Evelyn would make comments like that at the two of them later on, when Gibbs was there to see it. He'd have to make sure to get it on video, as well. No one at the Yard would believe him if he didn't.


	15. The Birthday Party, Part Two

"Fine! I concede!" Tony dropped himself onto the bench of a picnic table dramatically, ignoring the eye rolls of his partners. Booth snickered as he bowed to a laughing Evelyn before sitting next to his own partner. Tony pointed at him across the table with thinned out eyes. "If we were back in my college years, though, I'd be kicking your ass in basket ball."

"Tony, if we were back in your college years I wouldn't even exist yet." Evelyn shot at him with a smirk. Tim groaned at the jab towards Tony, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Thank you, Evelyn, for making me feel like a cradle robber." The woman in question gave her boyfriend an apologetic smile, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.

"But you're a gentleman, so it's all good."

"That does not help at  _all_. It just makes me sound like I'm manipulating you to steal your virtue or something." Tim hissed back, giving Evelyn a pseudo glare. She simply stuck her tongue out at him before turning back to the others.

"Speaking of cradle robbing..." Angela started with a mischievous smile. Tim groaned again as Brennan, Hodgins, and Booth gave Angela wary looks, Evelyn simply looking on in poorly veiled amusement. Those from the Jeffersonian knew that look. Angela was about to get dirty. "How  _is_  the gentleman boyfriend in bed?"

"That's it. I'm done." Tim immediately stood up, only to get pulled back down by a giggling Evelyn. Tony and Ziva didn't even bother with trying to hide their grins at Tim's misfortune.

"Everything comes down to what goes on in between the sheets with you, Angela." Evelyn pseudo scolded, ignoring the wistful look that suddenly appeared on Hodgins' face at her rather poor choice in wording.

"I only seek the goods, Sweetie. And since Booth and Brennan won't provide, you're next in line."

"Hey!" Booth protested, him and Brennan scooting away from each other a couple inches. His yell went mostly ignored, though.

"I've already given you details about what I did with my ex-boyfriends, Kyle and Blake. Why do you want to know about Timothy?" Evelyn stalled, enjoying the mild irritation showing up on Angela's face.

"Because he's your  _current_  boyfriend."

"Fine." Evelyn started, making Tim turn to look at her in horror. Tony and Ziva sat on the edge of their seats in anticipation, while Abby smirked as she waited to compare notes. "Timothy likes to fall asleep under the covers but it doesn't take him long to kick them off after he finally gets to sleep, he insists on having the left side of the bed so he doesn't have to crawl over me to get dressed for work in the morning, and I'm lucky if I last a night without being pushed onto Timothy's half of the bed and latched onto like a leech because of Jethro being unwilling to give up his spot on the right side."

Frowns grew all around the table, except for Tim's mild look of relief and Gibbs' smirk at Evelyn's antics.

"I didn't ask about Tim's sleeping habits." Angela reminded her, getting an innocent look in return.

"You asked how Timothy is in bed, Ang. That's how he is in bed. I have no idea what else you could possibly be talking about." Evelyn replied sweetly.

" _Sex_ , hun." Angela countered, figuring the blunt route would be the only way she'd get a straight answer out of Evelyn if she was acting like this. "I'm talking about  _sex_."

"Oh. We haven't had sex." Jimmy muttered an excuse about needing to use the bathroom to get away from the table among chuckles from Ducky, who was laughing at his discomfort. Tim only wished he could use that excuse as well, considering the scandalized look Tony was giving him, but he needed to stay to make sure he wasn't embarrassed more than he already was.

"Wait. You guys haven't gotten freaky yet?" Hodgins clarified in a tone of disbelief. Evelyn rolled her eyes, mimicking Tim's earlier action by pinching the bridge of her nose.

"What does it matter? Just because I didn't hesitate to jump into bed with Blake after I broke up with Kyle doesn't mean I'll be doing the same with Timothy. My relationship with Timothy actually  _matters_."

"Oh, buuuurn..." Abby let out. She didn't know this Blake person but she'd bet there was a  _very_  good reason why Evelyn broke up with him. Tim couldn't stop the smile growing on his face. He was liking  _this_  direction the conversation was taking.

"You are a healthy, young woman who has needs, Evelyn. You shouldn't be holding yourself back." Hodgins stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Evelyn's response was to grab the nearest plastic cup, which happened to be Tony's beer, and throw its contents at Hodgins.

"Thank you,  _Jack_. I don't know how I would have felt if I had held myself back from doing that." She hissed, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"God damn it, woman!" Hodgins jumped up off the bench, immediately unbuttoning his shirt so he could wring it out. Tim thinned his eyes out at Hodgins as the others let out a roar of laughter.

"Timothy is a gentleman. That is all you need to know and that is all you will ever find out." Evelyn stood up from the table as well, heading over to the picnic table they had set up as a buffet.

"She's got a point. It's really none of your business." Tim stated when the others calmed down, aiming it at Angela. "Not everyone likes giving out every single detail of their private lives."

"I know that, Tim. I respect boundaries when people set them. Evelyn just hasn't said she was against speaking about those types of things when it comes to you." Angela frowned as she looked in Evelyn's direction. It was obvious to Tim that Angela was wondering  _why_  Evelyn hadn't said anything.

"It's probably partially my fault." Tim explained, ignoring the protests his partners began to vocalize. He rose a hand to get them to shut up before continuing. "Evelyn's parents are coming to visit at the beginning of August but I've yet to tell my own parents about her. I know for a  _fact_  that Evelyn isn't against gossiping with you other girls, so she may be waiting until my parents know about her before saying anything. Their reaction to her may not be the best."

"Your parents shouldn't ev..." Tony began to say, but he stopped mid-word when Tim threw a glare his direction. It was an argument the two of them had been having the past three months. Tony was insistent that Tim shouldn't be as stressed out as he was over the situation while Tim stubbornly repeated that he had every reason to worry about his parents' reactions. It was moments like this where Tony realized just how well Tim's personality fit in with the rest of the team.

"As it is," Tim turned back to Angela. "I'm going to focus on introducing Evelyn to my sister before even considering bringing her home to my parents. Sarah knows I'm dating someone. She just doesn't have any details."

"That's because you're a twisted older brother and want to use the shock value on her." Evelyn spoke up as she returned to the table with a plate of cut fruit.

"All's fair in love and war." Tim quoted at her as a way to justify his decisions as far as his sister was concerned.

"Whatever." Evelyn said in a stage whisper.

"I'll have you know..." It was Tim's turn to be interrupted as his cell phone screamed for his attention. Glancing around the picnic table with slight confusion, since anyone from work who'd be calling him was right there with him, Tim pulled it out to answer it. He rose his eyebrows in surprise as he glanced at the caller ID before putting it up to his ear. "Mom! Is everything ok? Nothing happened, did it?"

Evelyn mouthed 'Speak of the devil' to the others before stuffing a hunk of pineapple in her mouth.

" _Everything is all right, Tim. Why would you think something was wrong?_ " Tim's mom replied.

"Because it's the middle of the day in the middle of the week. You usually only call me in the evening or during the weekend." Tony snickered as Tim justified his questioning, earning an elbow to the gut from Ziva.

" _I just got off the phone with your sister and she mentioned that you had the day off. I_ _figured I'd call you now instead of waiting until later tonight._ "

"Ok...well, then, what's up?" Tim reached around Evelyn to smack Tony upside the head, as well. Tony looked put out that both of his partners hit him, turning a pout towards Evelyn as if she could do something about it. She stuck her tongue out at Tony, deciding to let him suffer.

" _I know it's relatively last minute but things are getting kind of rushed. Your cousin, Jeremy, got a job that requires him to move to Europe at the end of next month. Since it'll be a while before any of us will see him at any sort of family function again, there's going to be a McGee family reunion before he moves. Jeremy wants you to be there. You're his favorite cousin. He would have asked you himself but he's been busy getting things prepared for his move._ "

"Whoa, what?!" Tim exclaimed in surprise. His brain was zoning in on 'family reunion' and 'next month', completely missing the last bit his mother said. Evelyn immediately set down the piece of watermelon she had picked up, giving Tim a worried look. "Last minute... Mom, you can say that again. A month's notice for vacation time is pushing it."

Satisfied that Tim's surprise wasn't because of something happening to his father, Evelyn happily went back to eating. Tim would explain the call after it was over.

" _I know that, Tim. We literally just picked the dates for the reunion this morning. We'll be having it on the 28_ _th_ _, 29_ _th_ _, and 30_ _th_ _since Jeremy is moving on the 31_ _st_ _._ " Tim let out a sigh, rubbing at his face as his mother continued to speak. " _Just_ _ **try**_ _to get those dates off, Tim. Jeremy understands if you can't. He said he was gonna make a stop in DC to see you before leaving if you couldn't._ "

"Mom, just hold on a second, please..." Tim pulled the phone away from his ear, turning to Gibbs.

"What dates, McGee?" Gibbs asked before Tim could say anything.

"28th through the 30th. I'm probably going to need the 27th and the 31st off as well, to cover traveling." Gibbs tilted his head slightly, thinking over what days of the week those would be.

"I'll switch weekends with Balboa so we have that weekend off. Only ask for the 27th, 28th, and the 31st when you fill out your request form. No guarantee HR is going to approve those dates, though."

"It's enough, Boss. Thanks." Tim lifted the phone back up. "Mom, Gibbs has offered to switch weekends with another team so we have the 29th and 30th off. I'm only guaranteeing you those dates."

" _It's enough, Tim._ " His mother unknowing repeating the words he just used a few moments before. " _Wait, Gibbs? Sarah said you had the day off._ "

"And Sarah was correct. I do have today off. I just happen to be with my Boss on my day off." Tim carefully worded his explanation. He didn't want to say 'at my girlfriend's birthday party'.

" _Really..._ " Tim's mom said, not completely believing him. " _Well, change of topic. You've been exposed. Thank your sister_."

"What did Sarah tell you?" Tim groaned. Evelyn threw him a smirk of amusement. She had an idea of what Sarah may have told their mother. Evelyn would do it, herself, if she had an older brother.

" _ **You**_ _have a girlfriend. Shockingly, Sarah didn't have that many details to share. I'm demanding that you bring the lucky woman along next month so we can meet her_."

"Mom!"

" _Don't 'Mom' me, Tim. I want to meet the girl._ _ **Bring her**_ _._ " A sigh of defeat escaped from Tim. He remembered that tone very well, even if it had been years since his mother had used it on him. It may not have been the same as the stubbornness that Tim had inherited from his father, but his mother's 'Don't argue with me' tone worked just as well. A fleeting thought passed through Tim's head, wondering what would be the end result if his mother used that tone during an argument with Gibbs when the man was using his 'Obey me' glare.

"Alright. Fine. I'll call you when I find out if I can get extra days off. Love you, Mom."

" _Love you, too, Tim. I'll talk to you later._ " His mom hung up first, leaving Tim to look at his phone with dread growing in his stomach. The inevitable argument that was going to happen at the family reunion was not how Tim wanted to send off his cousin.

"Timothy, what is it?" Evelyn asked when she saw the expression on his face. Tim threw her a glance before bring up his contacts list and pressing a name to call the person, holding a finger up at Evelyn to tell her he'd answer in a minute. It didn't take long for the other person to answer.

" _Hey, Tim! What's up? Did Mom call you, yet?_ "

"Yes, Sarah. I literally just got off the phone with Mom. I've already made plans to ask for off next month. I'm just calling you to tell you that you need to come to Rock Creek Park." Evelyn turned to exchange looks of surprise with Tony and Ziva over what Tim was saying. Tim planned things out. He didn't do things spontaneously like this.

" _Why? I was gonna call Betty after I finished eating lunch and ask her if she'd like to go shopping._ " Sarah whined. Tim just used on her the very same tone their mother used on him, and Sarah was extremely unhappy that Tim was the only one of the two of them to inherit it.

"I don't care, Sarah. You were the one who told Mom I was dating something so now you can deal with the consequences. That means giving up a shopping trip to come meet said girlfriend. We're in the Brightwood Recreation Area. I'm giving you half an hour." Tim hung up before Sarah could protest, not the least bit happy he was being rushed into doing things. He set his cell phone down and ran both of his hands through his hair with an irritated sigh.

"Timothy?" Evelyn asked again. She was worried by his anger. He could see that. Inhaling sharply, Tim turned to finally answer her.

"My cousin Jeremy is moving to Europe next month. That's what my mother called to tell me about. He's moving, so there's going to be a McGee family reunion. When my mother called Sarah to tell her about it, Sarah mentioned you." Evelyn frowned.

"Thus Sarah's impromptu punishment. But that doesn't fully explain why you're so stressed out about going to a family reunion, regardless of how last minute it has been planned."

"My mother has demanded that you come with."

"Oh..." Evelyn's expression turned dazed. "Well, I can easily get those days off. One of the few perks of transferring to the Psychology Department."

Tim nodded absentmindedly, taking a long drink from his cup of beer. Tony eyed him with a bit of concern. It was in his experience that Tim didn't handle things well when plans were thrown at him without giving him any time to prepare.

"Guys, perhaps you should get going. If there's going to be a meet and greet then there should probably only be one unknown face here. Wouldn't want Sarah to mistake Angel or Brennan as Timothy's girlfriend." Evelyn spoke to her friends from the Jeffersonian. "Thanks for coming. I'll see you all at work."

They all said their various good byes, each a bit worried about the drastic change of mood. Even Zack could sense it. This was a matter between Tim and Evelyn, though, so they didn't argue. They'd be out of place if they stayed. Once her friends were finally gone, Evelyn let out a sigh and got up from the bench again.

"I am gorging myself on a piece of my ice cream cake before Sarah arrives. Anyone else want a piece?"

"I do." Ziva stood up to join Evelyn. "I'll help you cut it."

"I'll take one." Tony spoke up, hoping to keep the mood a bit light. Everyone on Team Gibbs was remembering how snarky Sarah's temper could get when faced with something she didn't like. They could only hope she wouldn't let it out this time around.


	16. Sarah

Sarah grumpily made her way to the picnic tables the team was at, frowning when she finally reached her brother.

"I'm here." She hissed redundantly. Tim turned to her with a frown of his own, putting on his 'big brother' look.

"I had hoped that this meeting would be when all of us were in a better mood, but I am insistent that you meet my girlfriend  _before_  I introduce her to our parents and this is the only time available before the family reunion next month."

"Oh, so you're going?" Sarah asked in a sarcastic tone, knowing what Tim's schedule was like.

"Yes. Jeremy asked that I go, so I'm going. Not to mention our mother has  _demanded_  I bring my girlfriend since you blabbed about her. I don't have much of a choice." Tim threw back with just as much sarcasm. Tony stepped in before the siblings could get into a full out argument.

"Ok, now we have learned our lesson. McSister will not rat out McBrother to the parents on anything without checking in with him first. We good?" Sarah threw Tony an irritated look before rolling her eyes, collapsing into the empty bench space next to Tim.

"Where is this mystery girlfriend, anyway?" She asked.

"I'm right here." Evelyn inserted before Tim could answer, approaching the table from the direction of the bathrooms. She was securing a couple buttons on Tim's old shirt that she had slipped back on as she stopped on the opposite side of Tim. Sarah's eyes grew wide as she looked Evelyn up and down, immediately noticing that Evelyn was younger than she was. Evelyn continued speaking as if the looks meant nothing. "I'm Dr. Evelyn Brant. I work for the Jeffersonian in their Psychology Department. I met your brother at the writer's convention he attended a few months ago."

Tim kept his focus on his little sister, waiting for a reaction. The rest of the team wisely kept their mouths shut as they looked on in anticipation. Sarah's mouth was opening and closing like a fish, putting the team on edge on what she could possibly say.

"Writer's convention?" Sarah croaked, finally making her way through her original shock.

"Yes." Evelyn smiled indulgently, with a small nod. "I'm an author, like your brother. I wrote the psychological thriller  _Schizo_."

"Lynn Price..." Sarah let out. Her eyes were still wide as she took in everything Evelyn was telling her, but the tension emanating from her was going away.

"Yes." Evelyn nodded again. She threw a look in Tim's direction, prompting him to take over the introductions when Sarah remained silent.

"Evelyn, this is my little sister, Sarah. She's an English student at Waverly. She, like every other little sister in existence, has the habit of divulging my secrets before I'm ready to share them."

"Hey!" That got Sarah talking, if only to defend herself. "How was I supposed to know you hadn't told Mom yet?!"

"Glad you're feeling guilty about that, Sarah, but that isn't what I was referring to." Tim gave her a smirk.

"Out of curiosity, what  _were_  you referring to, Timothy?" Evelyn asked with a twinkle in her eye.

"That's not my fault, either!" Sarah cried out, apparently figuring it out.

"Sarah telling Tony and Ziva about  _Deep Six_." Tim answered without mercy. He let out a laugh when Sarah gave him a push, grabbing at the table so he wouldn't fall over.

"I had been made to think I killed someone. I was stressed!" Sarah pointed at Evelyn in a desperate attempt to defend herself. "It didn't help that Tony and Ziva were the ones to pick me up from the library!"

"It's ok, Sarah." Evelyn let out a mischievous grin, aiming it at Tony. "I write  _Deep Six_ fanfiction. Agent Tommy is my favorite human punching bag."

Tony warily took a couple steps away from Evelyn before grabbing Ziva to put the Israeli between him and the young red head. The team erupted into laughter as Evelyn and Sarah exchanged stares, daring each other to speak first. Sarah stood up suddenly, the others going quiet, prompting a rapid interrogation between the two young women.

"How old are you?"

"I turn 19 tomorrow. How long have you known that Timothy had a girlfriend?"

"About two months. Are you really a Doctor of Psychology?"

"Yes. I am also on my way to getting a doctorate in Computer Forensics. I should have it within the next two years. I am probably the only person you will ever meet who knows more about computers than your brother."

"Debatable. Does your own family know about Tim?"

"I've told my parents, yes. They'll be here in two weeks to formally meet Timothy in person. Now tell me the truth. Do you have a problem with me and Timothy being together? Remember, I'm a psychologist. I can tell if you lie to me." Evelyn's blunt question caused a pregnant pause, Tim looking back and forth with a slightly horrified expression. This wasn't going in the direction he had hoped.

"Am I surprised? A bit. Do I have a problem?" Sarah paused, putting a lot of weight on her coming answer. "No."

Tim hung his head as he audibly let out a sigh of relief, ignoring the eye roll he got from Evelyn as she stepped forward to pull Sarah into a hug.

"You and I need to exchange cell numbers." Evelyn insisted as she pulled away. "We need to share Timothy stories and make our plan of attack on how to embarrass him the most at the reunion next month."

"Now wait just a minute..." Tim began to protest, snapping his head back up.

"Sure! If we can, the two of us should have a girl's night out with Abby before then. Make a whole show out of it. Abby, what do you think?" A wicked grin grew on Sarah's face when Evelyn immediately began to speak her language, turning to Abby to pull the older woman in on the conversation.

"I said wait!" Tony and Ziva broke down in laughter when Tim's objections went ignored. Even Gibbs let out a few chuckles at the panicked look on Tim's face. With Sarah past her shock over Evelyn's age, and obviously not giving a damn about it, she went straight into Little Sister mode and jumped on the opportunity Evelyn was giving her.

"Sure!" Abby agreed to the idea with enthusiasm, earning a look of betrayal from Tim. "A night bowling with the nuns is something we all can agree on, don't you think?"

"I have no issue with bowling." Evelyn accepted, latching onto one of the few ideas of 'fun' Abby had that she would enjoy.

"So is tomorrow really your birthday?" Sarah changed topics, plans made. Tim let out a groan of defeat as he continued to be ignored by the two young women in front of him, dropping his head into his hands. He made the decision just to ride it out and hope to God he wasn't going to die of embarrassment.

"Yes, really." Evelyn laughed. "Timothy wants me all to himself tomorrow, though, so that's why my party was held today. We still have ice cream cake since we only cut into it recently. You want some?"

"How could I possibly say no to ice cream cake?!" Sarah claimed in a scandalized tone at the mere idea of her refusing. Evelyn wrapped her right arm around Sarah's left, pulling her in the direction of the buffet picnic table. Tim lifted his head to throw the two of them a look of intense irritation before turning to his team mates.

"Not. One. Word." He hissed at the group of them, trying to not feel too insulted as even Ducky and Jimmy had trouble keeping in their laughter at the unexpected turn of events.


	17. Vacation Plans

Evelyn pushed the dog nose away from her face with a groan, moaning when it immediately returned to sniffing her and leaving a trail of doggie snot along the skin on her face and neck.

"Jethro, dammit..." She muttered, attempting to push the German Shepherd away from her again. He returned the favor by sticking his nose against the junction where her jaw and skull met right below her ear, making Evelyn yelp from the sudden cold. She sat up, glaring at the dog through her bangs as they slowly fell in front of her eyes but Jethro merely stared back at Evelyn in expectation. "Go bother your dad. He's awake."

"I told him to wake you up!" Tim yelled from the kitchen, having heard Evelyn's hissed order at Jethro. Evelyn let another moan out, knowing she wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep if Tim had sent Jethro in to act as an alarm clock. Tim would only come in to take over the job if Jethro failed. Letting out a huff, Evelyn flung the sheet off her legs and stood up. Excited that he succeeded in his given task, Jethro darted off the bed and back into the main room of the apartment.

"Why are you being that cruel to me? It's my birthday." Evelyn muttered as she followed Jethro. She frowned at the temperature difference between the cold air of Tim's bedroom and the rest of the apartment when she hit a wall of heat, realizing that Tim must have only left the door open when he ordered Jethro in to wake her. Didn't leave the window air conditioner much time to cool the rest of the apartment.

"Because it's nearly time for breakfast." Tim sang in a cheeky tone, pulling an eye roll from Evelyn.

"You're lucky I love you..." She grumbled as she slid herself onto a stool at the breakfast counter separating the kitchen from Tim's work area, leaning forward on her elbows with her head cradled in her hands. Tim turned away from the stove with a smirk and leaned across the counter top to press a kiss onto Evelyn's mouth.

"Happy Birthday, Doll." He whispered in the same cheeky tone before kissing her again. Evelyn returned the kiss with a small sigh before pulling away.

"What do you have planned for me today?" She asked in a playfully wary tone. Evelyn couldn't stay irritated with Tim for long when he was acting like this.

"You'll see. Now, how many eggs do you want in your omelette?"

"Let's go with three." Evelyn answered. For a man who, like her, wanted to know everything about a situation, Tim was sure dead set on keeping her in the dark and surprising her. Evelyn made a mental note to get him back for the sneakiness as he turned back to the stove, but decided that having a little fun right away wouldn't be amiss. "I'll have to remember later, when my parents call, to tell them that you may not be with me when they arrive. If Gibbs is pulling some strings to get you those vacation days at a month's notice then perhaps you shouldn't be taking the day off."

"Don't bother. Human Resources already has it in their records that I won't be working that day." Tim commented over his shoulder. "Taking a single day off now won't cause any issue with my sudden need for vacation days at the end of August. If Gibbs does what I think he'll be doing then I'll most likely just have to work a couple weekends the team isn't on call. I should probably volunteer for either Thanksgiving or Christmas, though. Volunteering for the holidays makes the people in Human Resources very happy campers."

"Volunteer for Thanksgiving." Evelyn immediately suggested. "I'll be getting it off, anyway, so I'll play domestic for the day and have dinner done around the time you would be arriving home. If I'm up to it, maybe I'll even run in a lunch for you."

Tim paused in his actions to turn around and raise an eyebrow at Evelyn with a bemused expression. They had already gotten into the habit of doing such seemingly trivial things for each other like making meals or running them into work, but Evelyn volunteering to play 'house wife' on a holiday was something else entirely.

"What?" Evelyn deadpanned with an innocent look, as if her suggestion was a perfectly normal event.

"I'll consider it..." Tim trailed off, turning back around. He didn't need to actually look at her to know that a smirk had appeared on Evelyn's face. She was obviously getting him back for leaving her in the dark when it came to his plans for the day.  _Well_ , he though,  _two can play at this game_.


	18. Meeting the Parents

**Ten Days Later - August 2nd**

Evelyn tried her best to look over the heads of everyone in the crowd around her but her height put her at a disadvantage.

"Timothy, do you see them?" Evelyn asked as she jumped up and down.

"Evelyn, relax. Your parents know we're here. They'll be looking for us as well." The amused look never left Tim's face when the short red-head threw a scathing glare his way. Evelyn didn't say anything, though, and returned to her search for her parents. Tim shook his head slightly before going back to searching. Having Evelyn in a pissy mood when he meets her parents face-to-face for the first time wasn't exactly something he wanted, so he wasn't going to continue to poke fun at her.

"They should be here. Daddy called when their plane landed."

"Evelyn, they may have had to wait for their baggage." Tim risked a chuckle. He had to admit that Evelyn was somewhat adorable when she was irritated at someone or something that wasn't him.

"Oh, just shut..."

"Evelyn!" A woman's call interrupted Evelyn's snapped response, grabbing the teenager's attention immediately.

"Mama!" Evelyn yelled out in excitement, darting towards the older woman at full speed and nearly tackling her in a hug. Tim followed at a more sedate pace, exchanging an amused look with the older man standing next to the two women. It was obvious the man was Evelyn's father. After clutching her mother for a few moments, Evelyn turned her attention to her other parent. "Daddy!"

"Hello, princess." Evelyn's father full out laughed as she flung herself at him in the same way she did with her mother, bracing himself so Evelyn didn't knock the two of them over. "Judging by your excitement, I'm guessing you were getting restless waiting for your mother and I to make our way out of the passenger area?"

"You have  _no_  idea." Evelyn drawled out as she pulled away from her father. "I was considering taking hostages."

"You wouldn't have lasted long." Tim inserted with a snort. He froze like a deer in headlights, though, when he realized his comment made him the center of attention for the Brant family.

"Mama, Daddy, this is my boyfriend, Special Agent Timothy McGee." Evelyn began the introductions, keeping her eyes on Tim with a smirk on her face. "Timothy, these are my parents, Mark and Rebecca Brant. I know I've told you all about each other."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. McGee." Rebecca reached her hand out to shake Tim's, which he quickly gave. "Evelyn doesn't talk about guys that often when she calls home. I knew something was up the day she first mentioned you."

"I hope Evelyn has had nothing but good things to say about me. My mother would be very disappointed if I was anything less than a gentleman." Tim gave Rebecca a smile, causing Evelyn to turn to her father and stick a finger in her mouth in a fake gag. Mark rolled his eyes as his daughters antics and reached out to shake Tim's hand, himself.

"You are a saint compared to Evelyn's ex-boyfriends. I don't think Rebecca could find something wrong with you if she tried. And believe me, she  _will_ try." Mark let out a chuckle as his wife smacked his arm and glared at him, showing Tim which parent Evelyn got her temperament from.

"Don't scare the poor boy off, Mark. Now, Evelyn darling, you mentioned that you wanted to go to lunch before we checked into the motel?" Rebecca turned her attention back to her daughter in an attempt to keep things moving on.

"Yeah. It'll save us all a couple trips. That, and I'm starving." The group of them made their way towards the airport's main entrance, Evelyn weaving her arm around her mother's as they walked. "You two have  _got_  to check out this Chinese restaurant Timothy regularly takes me to. The pork fried rice, crab rangoon, and egg rolls are to die for."

"Evelyn, I think you would gorge yourself on a good hunk of their menu if you had the ability." Tim laughed, shaking his head.

"All the more reason to go back several times." Evelyn stuck her tongue out at Tim over her shoulder. Tim made a face back at her without hesitation.

"The Chinese restaurant it is, then." Mark said before Evelyn retaliated with another face of her own. "If their pork fried rice has Evelyn's approval then they must be good."

"They are." Tim confirmed, turning towards Mark. "My team at NCIS orders off their take-out menu semi-regularly. Between a retired marine, a former homicide detective, and a former Mossad officer, all of whom will nearly eat anything, finding an actual favorite of theirs is nigh impossible."

"We are definitely going there, then. The eating habits of law enforcement are well known, even in our small home town back in Wisconsin. I understand when you say finding a favorite is difficult." Mark said, beginning to sound excited about the restaurant. Tim made a note in the back of his mind that it looked like Evelyn got her eating habits from her father, wondering if seeing who Evelyn inherited what from would continue to be this easy.

* * *

"So,  _Tim_..." Rebecca tested after being told to go ahead and use 'Tim' or 'Timothy'. "You mentioned earlier that your team mates are a retired marine, a former homicide detective, and a former Mossad officer. That's quite the variety."

"Tell me about it. I feel so out of place, being the only one who applied to FLETC straight out of college." Tim replied before taking a sip of his soda. "Tony likes to constantly make jokes about me belonging to the Ivory Towers, but I'm certain I wouldn't fit in at college anymore. My team mates have had quite an effect on me over the years."

"You went to MIT, right? Evelyn mentioned a little bit of a rivalry going on between you two because of that." Mark spoke up before shoving a crab rangoon in his mouth, mirroring his daughter as she did the same thing across the table from him.

"Yeah. I have a Masters in Computer Forensics from MIT. I also have a Bachelors in Bio-medical Engineering from Johns Hopkins." Tim blushed slightly as Evelyn snickered around her food, knowing Tim rarely liked to toot his own horn.

"Don't be shy, Timothy." Evelyn let out, quickly taking a drink of her soda to clear her throat. "He graduated valedictorian all three times, as well as coming out at the top of his class at FLETC."

"Quite the intelligent young man you found, then." Rebecca commented. The blush on Tim's face deepened, Tim elbowing Evelyn when she continued to snicker. "I take it you use your skills often in your work?"

"Yes. I can't exactly give you specifics, but criminal investigations have ventured into the digital world more and more in recent years. My time is pretty much divided between the office and the field because of that." Tim replied.

"And he's a pretty decent shot, as well." An excited grin grew on Evelyn's face, prompting an eyeroll from Tim.

"There's a story there." Mark pointed his chop sticks at the both of them before returning to his food.

"Timothy takes me to the shooting range occasionally. I've yet to see him miss his intended target. He hits the bull's eye, or very close to it, every time." Evelyn bragged for Tim, getting a slightly glazed look in her eyes as she thought back to their first date and how she nearly drooled over Tim at the shooting range. "I've been doing pretty good, myself, but I like watching Timothy."

"Yeah, well, one of these times I'm going to have Tony take you. I may know what they teach at FLETC and the few training sessions I've taken since then, but Tony's experience from before he joined NCIS means he'll have a few tips that I can't provide." Tim inserted, taking a serious tone.

"You sound a bit concerned for Evelyn." Rebecca pointed out the obvious. "Is there reason to worry?"

"Not really, no." Tim waved the question off. "It's just that I do deal with some serious stuff at work and it's made its way into my personal life a few times. It's done that for everyone on the team, despite our best efforts to stop it. I'd just like Evelyn to be prepared in case something were to happen and I can't be there."

"Ever the boy scout." Evelyn muttered, frowning.

"Webelos." Tim corrected, poking her in the side and causing her to let out a squeak.

"I'm sure that Evelyn will be perfectly safe in the event something does happen." Mark said, effectively ending that part of the discussion. It was quite clear that Evelyn's parents didn't want to delve too deeply into the possible dangers Tim's job could get their daughter in.


	19. Meeting the Other Parents

**August 27th – McGee Family Reunion**

Tim couldn't stop fidgeting since he drove the rental car out of the Hertz parking lot. He and Evelyn were finally in Key West for the McGee Family Reunion. In less than half an hour, his parents were going to meet his girlfriend. It was a thought he still hadn't processed in the month since his mother first called him about the reunion.

"Sarah's already here, Timothy. Relax. We already know there's one person in that house that likes me," Evelyn said. Tim wondered if it they could get away with stopping at a motel before going to his parents' house. He had been told that, as a child of the hosts, everyone was expecting him to stay at the house like Sarah was. However, a motel room sounded like a good idea. It would be a safe haven away from the house if an argument came up.

"I love my sister, but she's never been good at stopping any kind of argument. She usually fuels them," Tim responded.

"Regardless, Sarah has already said she would step in this time if an argument was started. You told me she's been refusing to take sides ever since all this started. That she's willing to take sides now should show you something."

"I know..." Tim trailed off. That would be one rude awakening for most of his family. Everyone would always goad Sarah into siding with their father. Very few told Sarah that she should side with Tim. It was a reflection on the traditional thinking in the McGee family; always side with the parents because they were always right.

"And if things become to difficult to deal with, we can always go back to DC. I'm sure your cousin would understand," Evelyn continued, refusing to let Tim wallow in his worries.

"I'm still going to stress over this until it's over, Evelyn. Too many scenarios played through my head during our flight here."

"Fine. Be that way. I'll be glad to call you a drama queen when nothing bad happens."

"You and Sarah both," Tim muttered. He knew Evelyn was right. Stressing over it would only cause him to be more defensive once they arrived at his parents' house. However, saying something was far easier than actually doing it.

* * *

"Tim! You're here!" Sarah ran across the living room from where she was sitting the moment the front door opened, causing Tim to drop his bags so he could catch his sister.

"Yeah. I know. It's been so long since I dropped you off at the airport yesterday," Tim said sarcastically.

"Aunt Betsy is already digging her fangs in," Sarah hissed so only he would hear, pulling a look of understanding from Tim. Aunt Betsy, their father's youngest sibling, was a perpetual judger. Tim's ongoing tiff with his father was usually enough to pull her attention away from Sarah, however, so he saw why Sarah was so excited to see him. Aunt Betsy was going to leave Sarah alone now because Tim was there for her to focus on.

"Tim, darling! You're here!" Their mother, Jennifer, walked out of the kitchen to greet her oldest child, Tim grinning as he pulled away from Sarah. It had been a long time since he last saw his mother in person. He mentally noted that everyone in the living room was refusing to acknowledge him at the moment, but that was an issue for later. Whether his extended family liked it or not, this was  _home_  for him. He outranked them in this building. His mother gave him a grin of her own as the two of them pulled away from their hug. "So, where is this girlfriend of yours?"

"Still out in the car. She doesn't tolerate heat very well, so I told her to stay in the car's AC until I could bring all our bags in," Tim explained, giving his bags a small kick.

"You brought your heat-intolerant girlfriend to Key West in August?" Aunt Betsy stepped in, right on cue. Only then did everyone else pretend to finally register that Tim was there. "Must not be that intolerant if she actually came."

"Evelyn came because I asked her to, Aunt Betsy, not because her health issues are fake," Tim said with a hard look. Sarah was silent when she was judged by family, but Tim's experience from arguing with his father meant he wasn't willing to play door mat in his own home. "She gets asthma attacks in the DC summer heat. Coming to Key West in summer is difficult for her. You all better be understanding of that."

"Oh, really?" Betsy asked with a touch of sarcasm, pulling an eye roll from Jennifer. Her child was home less than five minutes and already someone was trying to pull him into an argument.

"It's not an option," Tim retorted, turning back to his mother. Sarah bit her lip so she didn't laugh out loud at Tim's blatant dismissal of their aunt, but their cousins weren't so kind. Snickers could be heard coming from the living room, but they disappeared when Betsy threw a look towards the group. "When was the last time you washed the spare bed sheets, Mom?"

"Last night. Your sister wanted fresh sheets to sleep on, so I threw yours into the wash as well," Jennifer smiled. Tim let out a hiss and immediately bent down to open one of his bags. Jennifer gave her son a confused look, glancing at Sarah for an explanation. When Sarah shrugged in response, Jennifer turned back to Tim. "Darling, what's the matter with me washing your sheets last night?"

"Ungratefulness, as always," Betsy snapped. "What else do you expect from the boy?"

"Evelyn's allergic to dyes and perfumes," Tim explained, refusing to address Betsy's potshot. He pulled out the small bottle of All Free and Clear he had bought the day before, handing it to his mother. "I was hoping it had been a while so the perfume in your laundry detergent was faded away, but a recent wash means they need to be washed again."

"Oh, sure! Not a problem, sweetheart. I didn't think to ask if freshly washed sheets would cause any problems," Jennifer said. She looked over the bottle Tim had given her so she had an excuse to ignore Betsy's reactions.

"It's not a problem, Mom. It's not a common issue. Evelyn is more than used to people taking their perfumes for granted."

"Well, we won't be doing that," Sarah asserted, earning a nod of agreement from their mother.

"Yes, we don't be doing that. Sarah, dear, take your brother's bags up to his room so he can go grab Evelyn's. I'm sure she'd like to come inside some time today," Jennifer ordered. "Grab the sheets off his bed, too."

"I'll grab a few bath towels out of the linen closet, as well," Sarah said as she grabbed Tim's bags. Tim gave her a significant look, knowing Sarah was purposely going overboard with the welcoming so that their mother was distracted by the time Evelyn finally came in, but he made no comment.

"Thanks, Sarah," Tim said.

"No problem," Sarah smiled.

"I'll be in the kitchen when you're finished moving everything and everyone indoors, Tim. I'm still going over the last of our various meal reservations for the next few days," Jennifer said, putting a hand on Tim's arm. "I'm glad you were able to make it, darling."

"Me, too, Mom," Tim replied, pressing a kiss to her cheek before heading out the door so Betsy didn't have the chance to get another word in. Evelyn gave him an amused look as he approached the car with an irritated expression on his face, but she kept her window closed as he passed her door to get to the trunk. Evelyn was keeping herself in the AC as Tim had ordered her to. Part of him was looking forward to the inevitable confrontation between Evelyn and Betsy because it was guaranteed that Evelyn would not keep her mouth shut, but most of him was more worried about how everyone was going to react when Evelyn walked in the front door. Sarah met Tim at the front door to help him take Evelyn's bags up to his old room once he returned to the house, both of them remaining silent as they scaled the stairs.

"$20 on Betsy opening her mouth first," Sarah said the moment they were inside Tim's room.

"No bet," he replied, dropping Evelyn's duffel on his bed. "That woman wouldn't know tact even if it made her dance naked while singing Lady Marmalade."

"That is  _not_  a mental image I needed, Tim," Sarah snapped. He rolled his eyes, letting out a sigh as he looked around his room. It didn't look much different from how it was when he left for MIT. There wasn't even a layer of dust from lack of use. His mother must have maintained it.

"I should probably go collect Evelyn from the car. All our bags are inside now."

"Everything is going to turn out okay, Tim," Sarah offered. "Anyone with half a brain can see how smitten you and her are for each other. If the others can't see it, then it's their loss. They won't be invited to the wedding."

"I'm not even going to go down that line of discussion with you," Tim started, raising his hand the moment Sarah joked about a wedding. "What I need is to survive the next few days."

"I'm sure you will. Now, off you go lover boy. Your lady is waiting." Tim gave Sarah a look before heading back downstairs. Just like when he arrived, everyone in the living room paid him no mind as he passed them to go out the door. Evelyn smiled at him as he approached the car a second time. She leaned over and turned the car off, taking the keys out of the ignition before finally opening her door just as Tim arrived. She let out a gasp at the sudden onslaught of heat as she stepped out, immediately taking her inhaler out of her purse for a preemptive dose.

"I know..." Tim said, rubbing Evelyn's arm as she let out a few heavy breaths. "You won't be spending too much time outside while we're here. Now come on. Into the air conditioning of the house." Evelyn nodded in agreement, following Tim up the sidewalk to the front door. However, she stopped right outside and pulled at Tim's arm to get his attention.

"Regardless of what happens next, Timothy, I love you. You get to decide whose opinions matter." Tim pressed a kiss to Evelyn's forehead in response. Inhaling sharply, he turned back to the door and opened it to lead Evelyn inside. It was time to get it over with.

"Sarah, you better not be going through my things like you usually do!" Tim yelled up the stairs, putting on a show so it wasn't obvious how stressed out he was over Evelyn finally being inside his parents' house.

"Oi! I'm down here," Sarah retorted, wandering out of the kitchen with a drink. "I see your far better half has finally wandered into the house."

"I'm surprised I made it up to the front door. I had to use my inhaler the moment I stepped out of the car," Evelyn replied before Tim could. Her high-pitched voice caught everyone's attention, causing a wide variety of initial reactions. One thing was clear across them all, though. Everyone was doubting that this was actually Tim's girlfriend. For the first time in his life, Tim was glad that his cousins always kept their mouths shut until his or one of their parents spoke up about something.

"I hear a new voice!" Jennifer called from the kitchen. Tim held his breath because he knew that Aunt Betsy was probably in the kitchen with his mother, and she would probably follow his mother back to the front entry way.

"The girlfriend's here!" Sarah yelled back. Evelyn was no big deal to her, and Sarah was going to make that clear to everyone. Several chairs moved, telling Tim that more than just his mother and aunt were going to be leaving the kitchen. Just perfect. Might as well have all his aunts and uncles react right away.

"I'm sure she has a name, Sarah. You and your brother have kept mum about... Oh," Jennifer stopped short upon seeing Evelyn beside Tim, forcing the other older adults to move around her to see what was going on. Betsy wasn't shy about putting on a scandalized look when she saw Evelyn for herself.

"Yes, I have a name," Evelyn said, pointedly ignoring the growing tension in the room. Most of Tim's aunts and uncles were following Betsy's example to various degrees, but a few managed to maintain neutral expressions. "I'm Dr. Evelyn Brant, ma'am. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Tim and Sarah have told me much about you."

"I'm sure," Jennifer said. It was clear that she was no longer pleased with her son, given the look she was now giving him.

"You look familiar," Dana, one of Tim's aunts, spoke up. Evelyn gave the woman a smile, ignoring the signals Tim was giving her to stop whatever she was doing.

"How so?"

"I'm sure I've seen your face in print somewhere."

"I would sure hope so. My novel make the  _Times'_ Top Ten Seller's List," Evelyn said. Tim let out a heavy sigh, pointedly ignoring his mother's expression as Evelyn continued to talk. His mother's sense of manners was the only thing keeping her from exploding on him at the moment. This he knew. He wasn't excited to seeing what it would take to get her to snap.

"An author like Tim, then!" one of Tim's cousins spoke up. Evelyn nodded, a smile growing on her face.

"It's how we met. We attended a writer's convention a few months ago and ran into each other there."

"Exciting, I'm sure," Betsy hissed. Tim and Sarah shared a look. As expected, Betsy was going to be the first to cause a scene. "Tell me. How does one as... _young_  as yourself manage to get a book published?"

"By submitting my novel to editors until one of them accepts it," Evelyn explained without batting an eye.

"Ah..." Betsy exclaimed with a sarcastic shrug of her shoulders.

"Daddy loves your novel," Sarah injected. Tim was surprised, not knowing if he believed Sarah's sudden statement. It was meant to cut the tension, but the truth behind it was yet to be seen.

"Really?" Evelyn asked.

"My husband's not much of a reader," Jennifer said, her mouth pressed into a thin line.

"He's still read  _Schizo_. Loved every page of it. He's run to the store to grab some more paper plates and such, but you can ask him yourself once he gets back," Sarah continued.

"Once I get back for what?" came a voice from behind Tim and Evelyn, causing Tim to spin around in surprise. It had been a long time since he was face-to-face with his father. This wasn't exactly the best way to face the man again.

"To meet Tim's girlfriend!" Sarah exclaimed, pointed towards Evelyn as if it were obvious. "The girl I'm sure Mom has been going on and on about for the past month since I let it slip that Tim was dating someone."

David McGee turned his attention to Evelyn, an eyebrow going up when his brain registered that the young woman was his son's girlfriend.

"Hello, Dad," Tim said. His entire body went tense. Home less than an hour and the first argument was all set to start.

"Tim," David said, giving his son a glance before returning his eyes to Evelyn. "And you would be?"

"Dr. Evelyn Brant," Evelyn answered, keeping things short and to the point. Tim's father was the one person she knew not to toy around with. Their ongoing issue was bad enough without her making it worse.

"Welcome to Key West, Dr. Brant. I do hope you love summer, otherwise your time here will be difficult," David said.

"It's already difficult, Mr. McGee. I hate the heat," Evelyn admitted. "I've already had to use my asthma inhaler."

"Do stay inside as much as possible, then. Last thing you need is an asthma attack away from home." David stepped around Tim and Evelyn, giving no reaction about Evelyn, and held the bags he was carrying up to his wife. "I think we have enough disposable dinnerware to last us through the end of the next millennium, dear."

"Thank you. Go ahead and put it in the kitchen," Jennifer replied. Tim's face grew incredulous when his father continued on to the kitchen without further comment. Of all the people in his family, his father was the last person Tim suspected would be one to lack a reaction towards Evelyn. He expected an argument the moment his father registered the obvious age difference between him and Evelyn. Whatever the reason for it, Tim wasn't sure he was going to believe it.


	20. Tense Relations

"When did Dad get replaced with a pod person?" Tim hissed at Sarah once their aunts and uncles followed their parents back into the kitchen. He ignored the whispers from their cousins.

"No bloody idea. That's the first time I've seen him act unexpectedly since I got here," Sarah replied. "To be honest, I was thinking he was going to react like Aunt Betsy did."

"You and me, both," Tim said.

"Timothy, it has been a long time since you've had a regular discussion with your father. You cannot possibly know what has happened in his life since you last saw him," Evelyn inserted.

"I get that. But Dad is a man of habit and routine. It comes from his time in the Navy. He should have had some kind of reaction like the others."

"Timothy," Evelyn chided with a look. "You're arguing about habits with a psychologist. I assure you that whatever happened is for the better if it led to your father not blowing up on you at first look. Now, why don't we take the opportunity to go speak with him?"

"I don't know. I think maybe we should..." Tim began, stopping when Evelyn turned on her heel and headed for the kitchen. "Evelyn, wait."

Tim and Sarah followed Evelyn into the kitchen, both of them anticipating having to break up an argument as their aunt sunk her metaphorical teeth into Evelyn a second time.

"So, Mr. McGee. Sarah tells me you've read  _Schizo._  How did you like it?" Evelyn asked as she took a seat at the breakfast bar, across from where David was setting up the mounds of disposable dinnerware.

"Wonderful novel. I can tell you right now that retirement is far more boring than expected when you come from an action-heavy career like I did, so it isn't easy to find something that'll keep me entertained. A friend from the Y suggested the novel after I mentioned going stir-crazy. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. I haven't been that enthralled by a thriller since I first saw  _The Sixth Sense_ ," David rambled. Evelyn gave Tim an amused look when she recognized which parent he got his fanboy-dom from. Say the right word and it wasn't likely that either of them would shut up.

"Why, thank you. I had a great time writing it. It's always great hearing what the readers think of it," Evelyn said.

"Wait, what?" David did a double-take, his hands frozen in the middle of what he was doing.

"Thank you. I had a great time writing  _Schizo,_ " Evelyn repeated with a grin.

"You...  _you_  wrote  _Schizo_?" David asked in disbelief, a look of awe growing on his face.

"Yes," Evelyn replied. "It's how I met your son, actually. He and I both attended a writer's convention a few months ago and..."

"Oh, my god!" David exclaimed, interrupting Evelyn. " _You_  are Lynn Price!"

Evelyn threw another amused look at Tim, who was torn on whether or not he should save his girlfriend from the on-coming fanboy rant his father was about to do. One, he understood what it was like to get in-your-face treatment from fans. But two, it would keep his father and Evelyn occupied enough that his other relatives wouldn't attempt to make more remarks at Evelyn about her age. It hardly helped that Tim's mother was still occasionally throwing a dark look at Evelyn, like Aunt Betsy was.

"Gonna save her?" Sarah whispered to Tim.

"In a minute," Tim answered. "Maybe."

"The guys at the Y are  _not_  going to believe me when I tell them," David continued. He forgot about his task completely and gripped the counter tightly in an attempt to keep himself from flailing his hands in excitement.

"Well, we're just going to have to remedy that, aren't we?" Evelyn said as a mischievous look grew on her face. She slipped off the stool and walked around the breakfast bar, taking her phone out and turning its camera on. "Selfie culture for the win."

Tim and Sarah watched with open mouths as Evelyn pulled their father into a side hug so she could take a photo of them both with her phone. David immediately returned the side hug so he and Evelyn were in the photo equally, grinning like an idiot.

"I'm going to have to send this to you so you can show them the next time you go," Evelyn said as she checked the picture for quality.

"If you can, email it. They're older than I am. No way they're going to be able to see it on my screen. I'll have to show them on a computer," David joked.

"No problem. Fill your address in for me," Evelyn said. She handed her phone over to David once she pulled up the 'Email Image' option.

"Dear, the dinnerware isn't going to set itself up," Jennifer spoke up. She had a tighter grip on the silverware she was wrapping than was strictly necessary.

"Yeah, because our family is ignorant enough that they can't find it unless it's stacked in front of them," David muttered before returning Evelyn's phone and going back to stacking the various plates he just bought.

"What else have you been doing since you retired, Mr. McGee?" Evelyn said. She gave Tim a look and jerked her head towards the table, telling Tim to deal with his mother. "There's only so many times you can read even a good book until you need other things to do."

Tim sighed and nudged Sarah to get her to approach the kitchen table with him. This was certainly a change of events. Tim's father seemed normal as he spoke with Evelyn, and it was Tim's mother who was upset after his arrival.

"Hey, Mom, are we still getting some pints from Richardson's for tomorrow?" Sarah asked as she and Tim sat down. Sarah adopted an excited look as she spoke about her favorite custard shop.

"Maybe. It depends on how much room we have left in the freezer," Jennifer replied.

"There's more than enough stuff in there, Sarah. You don't need any ice cream," Betsy insisted, waving her hands as if it was a ridiculous idea to even suggest buying ice cream.

"It's August, Aunt Betsy, and Sarah hasn't been able to afford to come home in months," Tim said with a terse tone. "Sarah, go check the freezer. If there's room, I'll drive you, myself."

"Tim, I said..." Betsy began.

"I know what you said," Tim hissed back. He wasn't in the mood to play along with Betsy taking her frustrations with him out on Sarah. "You have no say on how I decide to spend my paychecks. If I want to go buy several gallons from Richardson's and let them melt on the back patio, then I'm going to do it. Sarah, go check the freezer for room."

Sarah gave Tim a panicked look before getting up as she was ordered.

"Tim, do not be talking to your aunt like that," Jennifer chided with a look of disbelief that Tim would have such attitude.

"Then she needs to stop acting like she has a say on anything that goes on here. Last I checked, Mom, this was your and Dad's house," Tim said. "If you tell your daughter yes for something, Aunt Betsy has no right to be saying no."

"Typical, disrespectful, little brat," Betsy snapped.

Tim turned to glare at her, baited. He opened his mouth to say something that'd show her how 'disrespectful' he could be, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Timothy, Sarah says we're going to go get ice cream?" Evelyn said.

"Yes. There's room in the freezer?" Tim asked. The tension in his shoulders went away as he turned his focus to Evelyn's face.

"More than enough. Your father's going to rearrange a few things so we can also get a Trixie, if possible?" Evelyn's voice went up as she said the name in confusion, not entirely understanding David's request.

"A Trixie is one of the ice cream cakes Richardson's sells. Has all sorts of candy on it that'll make your teeth hurt.. My cousin, Jeremy, loves it," Tim explained. "Yeah, we can grab one while we're there."

"Alright, then. Come on. Sarah said she was going to meet us at the car," Evelyn said.

"Sure you don't wanna stay and be fawned over?" Tim asked with a smirk as he stood up.

"Your father can continue that later. Let's go," Evelyn giggled. She didn't give Tim the chance to reply by walking away, towards the front door.

"Mom, would you like anything specific?" Tim asked, ignoring the dark look his aunt was giving him.

"They have a new flavor of frozen yogurt. Tropical Punch, I believe. A pint, please, if you can," Jennifer admitted, not wanting to have someone make another trip.

"Of course, Mom," Tim said. He leaned across the table to kiss her cheek before leaving the room.

Tim let out a heavy sigh as he stepped outside, seeing Sarah and Evelyn already waiting for him in the car. Home for less than an hour and already most of his family was irritated with him. Had to be a new record. 


	21. Kin Confidant

"So," Jeremy said with a smirk.

"So," Tim replied.

The two cousins sat together on Tim's parents' patio. Earlier tensions in the family eased when Jeremy arrived and dinner prep began. Everyone had spread out into the back yard, with people in and outside the house, as Tim's uncles crowded around his father at the grill.

"Hot girlfriend you got there," Jeremy continued.

"As I'm told," Tim said, a smile beginning to form on his face. He turned his head to look at Evelyn and Sarah as the girls were filling water balloons at the hose faucet. Tim didn't really want to know what they planned on doing with said water balloons, but he felt that he was going to find out sooner or later.

"Dude, you seriously lucked out with her. Significantly better than your previous girlfriends. Please tell me you're keeping her."

"She's not some dog that needs a loving home," Tim chuckled.

"No, but you sure as hell are," Jeremy shot back.

Tim and Jeremy exploded in laughter.

"I... I'll be sure to let Evelyn know that," Tim said between gasps for air.

"For real, though," Jeremy continued. He took a few steady breaths to stop himself from laughing more. "She seems perfect for you, Tim. What little I've seen of you two interacting together, I honestly thought you two were together a lot longer than you have been. I thought you were holding out on me."

"Obviously, I haven't. I'm sure my mother would have killed me long before today if I had even  _interacted_  with Evelyn when she was younger," Tim said.

"So that's why Aunt Jenny's been acting like there's a log shoved up her ass," Jeremy mused.

"Jeremy!" Tim gasped, torn between anger and amusement.

"Like I give a shit what your mother thinks, Tim. Evelyn's a willing adult, ain't she? Last I checked, that is  _all_  that matters."

"Well, I  _know_  that, but that doesn't exactly matter much to our family," Tim pointed out.

"Close-mindedness like that is why I jumped on the chance to move across the ocean. It's an exhilarating experience knowing that this nonsense will be soon behind you. I highly suggest you try it out," Jeremy said.

"No, thanks. I worked my ass off to get onto the best team in my agency. I'm not leaving any time soon," Tim said.

"Your loss," Jeremy cracked.

"It  _has_  been," Tim replied.

Jeremy remained quiet as he looked over at David, remembering why Tim rarely appeared at family reunions. It was a miracle that none of their aunts, uncles, or cousins had instigated a fight between Tim and his father yet.

"Dad's been acting weird since Evelyn and I arrived," Tim continued after he noticed where Jeremy was looking. "Said my name when I greeting him, but that's it. He hasn't said a word to me since."

"Uncle David's been acting weird ever since he retired. I came down here a few months ago to visit Penny at her summer home before she headed off on her latest trip – you know, to help her with any computer issues before she left – and your dad was much more talkative with me than usual. I almost had to tell him to fuck off when I was checking Penny's security cameras so I could concentrate."

"That...doesn't sound right. Whenever I was checking something computer related for my parents or Penny, Dad  _always_  stayed clear until I was done so I wouldn't mess up. Why would he interrupt you?" Tim said.

"I have no idea, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same reason why he's staying clear of you now. Perhaps you should have Evelyn do some recon for you. Your dad seems to like her," Jeremy said.

"Evelyn wrote Dad's favorite book. Saying he 'likes' her is an understatement," Tim muttered with slight amusement. He chuckled when Jeremy gave him a confused look. "Evelyn is the published author Lynn Price. Dad found out before you got here and royally geeked out over her."

"All the more reason to have her talk to him, then. She has an in. He's not likely to push her away from the get go."

"And why are you suggesting I have my girlfriend interrogate my father, again?" Tim said. He looked towards his father as the man tended the grill between bouts of laughter. Clearly the discussion with Tim's uncles was entertaining.

"This thing between you and your father needs to end, Tim. I'm just saying take advantage of your chance to have an outsider's perspective on it. Evelyn hasn't seen one of your arguments yet. Let her speak with your father about your guys' disagreement before another argument happens," Jeremy explained.

"I don't know. Mom's been giving me the cold shoulder ever since I snapped at Aunt Betsy earlier for giving Sarah attitude. Encouraging Evelyn to get involved in the family's dirty laundry doesn't seem like the best move at the moment," Tim said.

Jeremy opened his mouth to argue back, but he froze when a water balloon whacked him in the face and soaked him. Both Jeremy and Tim turned to see Sarah with a mischievous look on her face and Evelyn, behind her, giving Tim a suggestive look as she lightly tossed a different water balloon up and down in her hand.

"Evelyn, don't you  _dare_ ," Tim started, a smile beginning to grow on his face. He lunged off his seat when Evelyn threw the balloon, causing it to hit Jeremy and soak his clothes even more. Tim gave Jeremy an amused look before searching around the immediate area for an impromptu shield.

"Oh, come on!" Jeremy shrieked, grabbing the attention of some of the other family members.

"Gotta be faster than that, Jeremy!" Sarah laughed.

"You little..." Jeremy muttered under his breath in amusement as he stood up, looking for his own form of protection when Tim grabbed the obvious choice of his parents' fire pit lid.

"Oh, such a brave knight in shining armor I have. Hiding behind his shield!" Evelyn mocked as she approached Tim slowly. She kept her gaze on him steady as she looked for an opening to nail him with a water balloon.

"Anyone who walks into battle without the proper protection is a special kind of stupid," Tim shot back. He began making his way backwards in the hope of making it off the patio and into the yard, which had better cover, before Evelyn hit him.

"True. Especially those without ammo," Evelyn admitted.

Sarah took her chance to chuck another balloon at Jeremy, leaving her brother to his inevitable fate with Evelyn. Her small upper hand didn't last long, though, when Jeremy decided on impulse to run towards Sarah instead of away from her. His unexpected action caused Sarah to drop her bucket of balloons in surprise and bolt for the yard.

Evelyn paused when she realized that half her ammo was now in 'enemy' hands, giving Tim enough time to follow Sarah. He wasn't going to wait and see the end result of the stand off between Evelyn and Jeremy before finding cover and a good vantage point for 'attack.' Jeremy could fend for himself at the moment.


	22. Morning Planning

"So this is your bedroom," Evelyn giggled as she slowed walked around the room.

"Yes. This is my bedroom. This is where I spent my awkward teenage years oh, so long ago," Tim drawled out.

Evelyn gave Tim a smile before turning back to look at all the awards that decorated one of the walls. Useless awards now, but they meant so much to the teenager who won them.

"Have you always been this tidy? Or has the room been cleaned up since you moved out?" Evelyn asked.

"I've always been tidy. Navy brat, remember?" Tim said.

Evelyn nodded in acknowledgment before sitting down on the bed and stretching out. It was going to be a tight fit for the both of them since the bed was just a double, but it would have to do. Evelyn had already told Tim that she wasn't going to have them stay at a motel.

"I'd say today went well," Evelyn said, finally addressing the elephant in the room.

"It could have gone worse," Tim admitting, sitting down next to Evelyn.

"We'll survive the rest of the weekend. I'm sure of it."

"I sure hope so," Tim replied. Almost every interaction with his family today had been awkward because it was like he was on egg shells all day long. Anything he said, especially anything related to Evelyn, could have sent someone into a rant. The small spat he had with his aunt in the kitchen was just the beginning.

"I'm sure of it," Evelyn repeated. She patted Tim on the arm before standing up to change into pajamas. "Now come on. We'll need our rest to survive tomorrow."

Tim watched as Evelyn collected her pajamas from her bag and walked out of the room to go change and brush her teeth in the bathroom. He felt fortunate that she immediately settled into a partnership in facing his family. He definitely need it.

* * *

Tim slowly walked into the kitchen, hearing the Twilight Zone theme music in his head again. Evelyn and his father were at the stove together, laughing over whatever it was they were talking about. It was still weird for Tim to see his father like this.

"Morning, sleepy head!" Evelyn exclaimed when she caught sight of Tim in the corner of her eye. She giggled when she noticed the confused look on his face. David had an amused look of his own, but he said nothing as he turned back to the skillet in front of him.

"Good morning, Evelyn. I take it you've been awake for a while?" Tim sat on a stool at the breakfast bar, reaching for a glass and the pitcher of orange juice that sat on the counter.

"Of course," Evelyn replied. "Were you planning anything specific for breakfast, Timothy? It's just the five of us until your extended family members start arriving again from their motel rooms."

"Small. You know me. I'm too used to having to take my breakfast to-go because of work. I'll probably get a stomach ache if I eat too much so soon after waking up," Tim said. He took a long sip of his orange juice as he gave his father's back an awkward look. Tim didn't know if he should attempt to talk to his father or not.

"How lucky for you pancakes are already made," Evelyn said as she uncovered the plate next to the stove, showing a stack of pancakes. She picked the plate up and walked it over to the breakfast bar so Tim could help himself.

"Thank you," Tim said to the room in general, not knowing which person in front of him actually made the pancakes. His father was currently focusing on an omelet, so it wasn't immediately obvious who made the stack.

"Anyway, as I was saying," Evelyn turned back to continue speaking with David.

Tim tuned them both out as he transferred two pancakes to a plate of his own and slowly ate them as is. Maybe he was still waking up, but everything felt too surreal at the moment.

"How are you three fully awake already?" Sarah mumbled as she entered the kitchen rubbing her eyes, earning chuckles from everyone.

"Habit," David replied before Evelyn or Tim could. "Get a good night's sleep, princess?"

"Mostly. I'm not used to my old bed anymore," Sarah replied. She walked up to David to give him a hug and grab a piece of bacon off the plate next to the stove.

"At least you fit on it properly," Tim couldn't resist saying as Sarah joined him at the breakfast car.

"Tim, you haven't fit on a bed since you hit puberty," Sarah shot back.

"Yes, I do. I fit on my bed back home. Even when I have to share it with Evelyn  _and_  the dog."

"That's not fitting. That's refusing to move," Evelyn muttered. Tim gave her a smile, remembering Evelyn was just as much of a bed hog as he was.

"Not to mention you bought a king size when you moved into that apartment. That's hardly a fair comparison," Sarah called him out.

"Whatever you say," Tim said, giving Sarah a smirk.

The sound of the shower kicking on upstairs made David glance up at the ceiling before leaning over to press the power button on the coffee machine. Tim and Sarah shared amused looks at the implication.

"Mom is still addicted to caffeine, I take it?" Sarah asked.

"I suggest you have a full cup of coffee on you as an offering before you try to communicate with the creature," David said, making both of his children laugh.

"Sounds about right," Evelyn said, giving Tim a knowing look. She heard many stories about how the team dealt with Gibbs' own caffeine addiction.

"Your cousin, Jeremy, wanted today to be a beach day. I suggest you get ready once you're done eating. No reason to wait here for any family members when you can head over to Smathers Beach right away," David said over his shoulder. Tim and Sarah gave each other a look, not knowing if their father was being specific to one of them or was talking to both of them in general. Leaving for the beach early  _would_ be a good reason to avoid another confrontation with Aunt Betsy so early in the morning.

"Alright, Dad," Sarah spoke up. "Tim, will you and Evelyn wait for me? I'll carpool with you two, if you don't mind."

"Of course we'll wait. Don't worry about rushing," Tim said.

Tim wondered how long it would take for everyone to arrive at the beach if they weren't meeting here first. He hoped certain family members would delay past lunch. The day was starting out nice enough. He wanted that to last as long as possible.


	23. Car Conversations

Evelyn sprawled out on her beach towel, hidden beneath a sun umbrella, smiling as she listened to Timothy and Sarah talk shit to each other with Jeremy goading them on. It was nice seeing Timothy relax for once instead of stress over his current case or the latest chapter he owed his publisher. She needed to convince him to use his vacation days more often.

"I'm telling you! It is definitely hotter than usual!" Betsy exclaimed loudly to Jennifer. Evelyn could tell the woman was trying to provoke Evelyn into saying something or to leave altogether, but it wasn't going to work. She was here for Timothy, and Timothy was here for Jeremy. The boys were going to get their farewell weekend.

"It's a typical Florida summer, Betsy. Shut it," one of Timothy's uncles finally snapped. Evelyn had already forgotten the man's name, unfortunately, so she made a mental note to ask Timothy to tell her again.

"Are you sure you don't want to go swimming, Evelyn?" Sarah called up to her when Timothy and Jeremy's maturity levels sank into an impromptu wrestling session.

"I'm sure, Sarah, but thank you. It's not a good idea for me to be in the sun for extended periods of time, regardless of how much sunblock I have on," Evelyn replied.

"Ah, yeah. That's right," Sarah said, walking up to Evelyn to join her under the umbrella. "You get a rash from sun exposure, even if you don't get a burn."

"Unfortunately," Evelyn said.

"Tim's a saint to be dealing with such a high maintenance girlfriend," Sarah said with a laugh, pulling one out of Evelyn.

"I try to make it as easy as possible for him," Evelyn commented back with a grin.

"Bullshit," Timothy spoke up. He and Jeremy approached the girls, panting, and sat down just outside the shade of the umbrella. "There are days you purposely make it more difficult."

"I have to keep you on your toes!" Evelyn claimed. Jeremy and Sarah laughed at the couple.

"Sure you do," Timothy replied. Evelyn handed him her bottle of water when his panting didn't ease up, and Timothy promptly downed half of it. "How's your breathing, by the way? When's the last time you needed to use your inhaler?"

"It's been fine. I took a dose a couple hours ago, but I should probably take another one shortly if I'm not going to go inside any time soon," Evelyn said.

"You could always volunteer to go on an ice cream run. It'll get you inside the air conditioning of a car," Jeremy suggested.

"Don't be using Tim's girlfriend to get more custard from Richardson's," Sarah scolded, immediately catching on to Jeremy's plan.

Evelyn ignored Sarah and Jeremy as they began to banter back and forth about the pros and cons of making someone else do an ice cream run. She knew she would probably volunteer to do it, eventually.

"As long as you're breathing fine," Timothy said, also ignoring the argument in front of him.

"I am," Evelyn assured him.

"I have to head back to the house to finalize dinner plans for tonight. Anyone want to come with? Get some AC?" David called out to the McGee clan. None of them seemed to notice. Evelyn moved to answer, but she paused to give Timothy an unsure look. A torn expression appeared on his face before he let out a sigh.

"Go, Evelyn. You could use some cooler air," Timothy said.

"Are you sure?" Evelyn asked. It was one thing for her to have the one-on-one discussion she had with David that morning when everyone else was also in the house. Right now, if she went with, she would be completely alone with David. Evelyn didn't want to cause issues between Timothy and his father if Timothy wasn't comfortable with her being alone with the man.

"Go," Timothy repeated, giving her a nudge. Evelyn nodded in understanding, grabbing her purse and flip flops as she stood up.

"I'll come!" Evelyn spoke up. She hopped in place to put her sandals on before walking up to David. "Some AC sounds good right about now."

"Of course. Don't need to have you having an asthma attack in the middle of your visit," David said.

Evelyn shook her head in agreement, pointedly ignoring the glares Jennifer and Betsy were throwing at her back. She hated to think about what they were going to say to Timothy after she was out of earshot, but Timothy insisted she go. Evelyn couldn't argue with legitimate health concerns.

The AC in David's sedan kicked in within seconds of David turning the car on, prompting Evelyn to button up the blouse she was wearing over her shorts and bikini top. It provided little warmth, but it did keep the air from blasting onto bare skin. The last thing Evelyn wanted was dry skin because she sat in front of an AC vent for too long.

"How are you enjoying Key West so far?" David asked after they were a few blocks away from the beach.

"Other than the heat, it's wonderful here! I can understand why so many people flock to Florida for their vacations," Evelyn said.

"But you probably won't want to come back during the summer any time soon," David chuckled.

"Probably not," Evelyn agreed.

"I'm sure winter would be more to your liking," David assured her.

Evelyn paused at that statement. It assumed that Evelyn was going to be making return trips. Which meant David assumed she was going to be staying with Timothy. That was not at all the kind of reaction Timothy led her to expect. She had assumed that David was being polite because he was a fan, but now Evelyn wasn't so sure.

"I'll have to ask Timothy about how much vacation time he has left this year. Maybe we can come in December," Evelyn said before her silence became awkward.

"Alright," David said.

Silence grew between them, and Evelyn wasn't sure how to address it. She had multiple options and didn't know how Timothy would react to most of them. He never actually told her whether or not he wanted her to stay clear of the subject with his father.

"You're not..." Evelyn began. David glanced at her briefly, showing Evelyn he heard her clearly. Fuck it, she'll deal with the aftermath later if Timothy got angry with her. Time to finish jumping into the deep end. "You're not at all acting the way Timothy and Sarah said you would."

"I'm not surprised," David said. He gripped the steering wheel tighter, telling Evelyn it wasn't the most comfortable topic for him.

"I can't help but ask what changed. You and Timothy have been equally stubborn about not speaking with each other since he and I arrived yesterday, so it doesn't appear like either of you are going to address the issue any time soon. Timothy's noticed your strange reactions, too, but, again, he admits to inheriting his stubbornness from you. And because Timothy refuses to say anything, neither will Sarah," Evelyn said.

"As understanding and accommodating as Tim became while his mother and I were raising him, he's still a McGee. And we McGee men are known for holding grudges long past the time the heat of it goes out. Sometimes I think it's because we don't know how to move on," David told Evelyn.

"What changed?" Evelyn asked again. David just admitted that the heat of his and Timothy's original argument had long gone out. Pure stubbornness is the likely cause of him not reaching out to Timothy, but something else had to cause David's actions the last two days. David mostly ignored Timothy, just as Timothy mostly ignored David, but he wasn't being as antagonistic as the McGee children said he'd be.

"I..." David hesitated. He pulled the car over into the nearest lot and put the car in park. Evelyn could see a sheen grow in his eyes and briefly worried she pushed the blunt questions too quickly. "Back in March, some new neighbors moved in across the street. Jennifer and I are on friendly terms with pretty much everyone in the neighborhood, so we invited the new neighbors to a neighborhood BBQ potluck when it was our turn to host. I gave the couple a brief tour of our house, just the ground floor, while Jennifer prepared the kitchen for all the food everyone else was bringing. We were talking about various topics when, seemingly out of nowhere, the wife asked 'How long has it been?'"

Evelyn gave David a confused look over his neighbor's comment. She, too, wondered where that kind of question came from. It wasn't exactly the best etiquette to be asking random questions out of nowhere when meeting someone new.

"I asked 'How long has it been since what?' and the husband replied 'Since your son died,'" David continued. Evelyn's eyes went wide in shock. "My stomach dropped like it was full of cement. I explained 'No, my son isn't dead. He lives in DC. He works for NCIS.' I have never seen anyone backtrack on what they said as fast as that couple did. They began to stutter out an apology and say how they noticed I spoke a lot about what Sarah was doing with school but not once mentioned Tim, even after showing his picture along with Sarah's on our wall. They spoke about some friend of theirs who also lost a son and had acted similar to how I was at that moment."

"How did you react to that?" Evelyn asked.

"I was  _horrified_ ," David exclaimed. "I didn't even realize that I hadn't said a single thing about Tim until that moment. I've never once told Tim he was dead to me. I've never once said it to his mother. I've never said it to anybody because he's not. He's my  _son_. But to have someone who was basically a stranger assume that Tim was dead..."

"It was a harsh reality check," Evelyn finished for David, giving him a sympathetic look. When Evelyn told Timothy the day before that he didn't know everything that had been going on in his father's life, she hadn't expected something like this. She had expected someone in the family being the voice of reason and had broken through the McGee stubbornness.

"Tim has a very dangerous job. He's regularly in more dangerous situations that I ever was my entire career in the Navy. Receiving a phone call from someone at the DC Navy Yard to notify Jennifer and I that Tim died while on duty is a very real thing that could happen every single day," David said, his voice becoming shakier and shakier the more he spoke. "I have no idea how I would react if we ever do receive that phone call."

"That conversation with your neighbor is something you need to tell Timothy," Evelyn said slowly, choosing her words carefully. "This...tiff between the two of you has lasted as long as it has because you're both equally bullheaded about the situation, and you both refuse to make the first move. However, Timothy has no compelling reason to change his ways at the moment. You do. Tell Timothy everything you just told me. You say McGee men don't know how to move on? You have a chance right now to do just that."

"Because getting Tim alone any time this weekend is going to be easy," David scoffed, wiping at his face. "You've been repeatedly pointing out how much like me he is."

"Then you  _make_  the opportunity happen. I can do what I can on my end to help you get the chance to speak with Timothy, but you ultimately have to force it if you want it to happen while we're here," Evelyn said. "Timothy is already at wit's end with his extended family. Finding a way to pull him away may be easier than you think."

"Don't worry about Betsy. I'll be dealing with her at some point today," David said, knowing exactly which extended family member Evelyn was talking about. Betsy was beginning to annoy him, as well. David let out a heavy sigh as he stared out the windshield. "If you think Tim will listen..."

"He will," Evelyn inserted.

"Then okay. I'm sure I can find some excuse to pull Tim away from the others. I can probably even do it today."

"Whenever you can. I'm sure the two of you have a lot of fanboying to catch up on together," Evelyn said, pulling a short laugh out of David.

"You certainly are a good fit for him," David said.

"I try," Evelyn replied with a smile.

Evelyn had no idea how much this entire conversation was going to help the situation between Timothy and David, but she certainly hoped it improved it, even slightly. Anything would be better than nothing.


	24. Accusations

David had barely parked the car upon their return to the beach when he and Evelyn noticed several members of the McGee family grouping together. That was hardly a good sign. Nor was the yelling they heard as soon as they opened the car doors.

"Goddammit," David muttered, shoving his car keys into his pocket before rushing to figure out what was going on.

Evelyn followed at a more sedate pace, unable to outright run in her flip flops like David was able to in his shoes. There were so many people yelling at each other that Evelyn could barely hear herself think once she reached the edge of the group. Sarah appeared next to Evelyn and began pulling her away by the arm.

"Evelyn, being here might not be the best idea," Sarah said next to Evelyn's ear so she could be heard.

"Since when did your opinion of my life matter in any way, shape, or form?!" Tim's voice called out. It was a miracle he was heard over his cousins, who were all continuing to argue back and forth. Evelyn paused to look back, knowing exactly who Tim was yelling at. Sarah continued to try to pull Evelyn away, but she soon relented when it became clear that Evelyn was refusing to move.

"You're an embarrassment to us all!" Betsy snapped back.

A high pitched whistle caused the McGee clan to fall silent before Tim could send a retort back at his aunt. Everyone's eyes turned towards David, who was giving Betsy a glare.

"What the hell is going on here?" David hissed at his sister.

"I'm doing what you're apparently too stubborn to do yourself!" Betsy yelled. "Your son is an ungrateful, selfish disgrace! He is not welcome here!"

" _I_  will make the decision on who is and isn't welcome in my own damn home and at any events that I host, Betsy!" David said. He gave Jennifer an incredulous look when she stood firmly behind Betsy with a cross expression on her face. "Jenny, why the hell are you backing Betsy on this?"

"I can't keep quiet on it anymore, David. I was fine dealing with your ongoing feud with Timothy because the two of you have been avoiding confrontations the last few years, but him bringing that  _girl_  home is the last straw! It's a perversion!" Jenny said.

"What?!" Tim yelled in shock at the words that came out of his own mother's mouth.

"How long have you known that  _girl_? Grooming takes a while!" Jenny turned towards Tim, pure anger and disgust growing on her face.

"Mom, I met Evelyn this past March!" Tim said in defense.

"Jennifer, I did  _not_  just hear you insinuate that our son is a pedophile!" David inserted before she could reply to Tim's comment.

"There is a 13 year difference between the two of them, David!" Jennifer defended herself. "You cannot honestly tell me you're okay with that!"

"Woman, have you not met your mother-in-law?!" David yelled back, still giving his wife an incredulous look. "Tim's girlfriend is a consenting  _adult_ , Jennifer, regardless of the age difference! That's all that matters!"

Tim took a few steps back, unable to fully register the new argument that was forming in front of him between his parents and his Aunt Betsy. He had expected backlash about his relationship with Evelyn. He hadn't expected to be accused of  _grooming_  her when she was still a minor. Especially by his own mother. Evelyn appeared by his side and grabbed a hold of his forearm, giving him a concerned look when she noticed how pale Tim was becoming.

"I was raised by Mother, too, David, but clearly it was Father who taught common sense! Your son has no business being in a sexual relationship with a teenager!" Betsy snapped.

"We're not," Evelyn interrupted, causing all eyes to turn towards her. Tim's expression turned into a horrified one, having hoped Evelyn would be left out of the screaming back and forth. "We're not in a sexual relationship, Betsy."

"Oh, really?" Betsy replied, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "So it's just for convenience's sake that you two are sharing Tim's bed back at the house?"

"Yes, it is," Evelyn said in an even tone. "It's Timothy's parents' house. There's no reason for us to rent a motel room when they've kept his old bedroom intact."

"So you share a bed with any man you date, then?" Betsy asked, making it clear she didn't believe Evelyn. Evelyn's expression turned dark and she stepped towards Betsy, ignoring Tim's attempt to hold her back.

"Betsy, I'm a  _good_  Catholic who's fully intent on saving myself for my wedding night. Are you insinuating that I've whored myself around under the guise of saving a few dollars on motel rooms?" Evelyn hissed.

Tim froze in place, not entirely sure how to react. He knew damn well Evelyn was lying, especially after the joking around Angela attempted at Evelyn's birthday party, but he also knew it probably wasn't a good idea to let Betsy  _know_  that Evelyn was lying.

"No," Betsy back peddled, grasping at the crucifix hanging around her neck while her mouth opened and closed as she tried to find a logical response to Evelyn's retort. "It's still entirely inappropriate for you to be sharing a bed with a grown man!"

"Betsy, that's enough!" David roared. He moved to stand between Betsy and Evelyn and furiously stared his sister down. "Back off Tim and Evelyn. Now."

"David," Jennifer began, but she stuttered over her next words when David turned his glare on her.

"Jennifer, you and I are going to have a  _long_  discussion later," David said evenly.

"It's inappropriate, David!" Jennifer repeated, motioning to Tim and Evelyn behind David.

"Hardly! Jennifer, you and I were  _younger_  than Evelyn is now when we had Tim!" David said.

"At least we were the same age!" Jennifer argued. "I didn't date a man a handful of years short of being old enough to be my father!"

"Mom!" Tim exclaimed. He could feel his blood pressure skyrocket, and it was causing his hands to shake. He really didn't know how else to argue. Having both Aunt Betsy and his mother tag-team against him felt like a sucker punch.

"An adult is an adult is an adult," David said.

"Not all adults are equal," Betsy shot back, taking David's attention off of Jennifer.

"You're right, Betsy," David said, his voice losing all inflection. "So I'll be damned to Hell if I allow the likes of you back into my house."

"Excuse me?!" Betsy shrieked. The rest of the family began to slowly step away from the arguing group for fear of attention being turned on them.

"You've done nothing but repeatedly attack both of my children since you arrived in Key West. I don't care if this is Jeremy's farewell weekend. Appear on my property again and I'm calling the police to escort you off," David continued.

"Well, I don't want that  _girl_  in my house, either!" Jennifer insisted, putting a hand on Betsy's shoulder.

"Fine! Then Evelyn and I will just return to DC! I've already said my good byes to Jeremy!" Tim said before David could respond. Tim gave his mother a look of betrayal before turning back to where he had been sitting with Evelyn, Sarah, and Jeremy earlier. "Evelyn, go wait by the car while I collect our things."

Sarah took the chance to grab Evelyn's arm again and start dragging her away, towards the parking lot. Anything to try and get everyone as far away from each other as possible.

"Tim," David called to Tim's back. David glared at Jennifer and Betsy then followed Tim away from the group. David waited until they were out of reasonable earshot of everyone else before repeating himself. "Tim, wait."

"Dad," Tim started, spinning on a heel to look at his father. He took a couple even breaths. "Mom...  _just_  insinuated I was a pedophile. To my face. I'm not exactly in the mood to want to be here right now."

"Please, just wait. Don't go back home to DC yet," David begged.

"Why not? It's not exactly like I've got a lot of people here who still like me," Tim pointed out.

"Just... Please don't go yet," David continued, having trouble finding the words. He was hardly as articulate as either of his children. Something he was normally proud of, because it meant they both were capable of going far in life, but now it was frustrating. Tim stared at him expectantly, still wanting a reason to not return to DC, and David couldn't provide a coherent one. Desperate, David grabbed at Tim and hugged him close with the hope it got the point across. "Please don't go yet."

Tim froze in shock. He couldn't remember the last time he touched his father, let alone hugged the man. It had been literal years. Suddenly feeling completely exhausted from all the tension he'd be experiencing since the moment the airplane landed yesterday, Tim shoved his face into David's shoulder and hugged back.

"Dad, I can't take it anymore," Tim mumbled into David's shirt. David ran a hand through Tim's hair and pressed a kiss to the side of his head.

"I know, Tim. I know," David said. He pulled away and held Tim's face in his hands, Tim looking every bit as exhausted as he felt. "Go grab your things from the house and head to your grandmother's. You know Penny. She's not going to give a damn about you staying there. She'll be happy to see you when she returns home tomorrow."

"But Mom and Aunt Betsy..." Tim trailed off. He didn't have it in him to argue anymore.

"I will deal with them. Just give me a little bit of time.  _Go_  to Penny's. Now, you did warn Evelyn about your grandmother's antics, right?" David asked. Tim let out a huff in a sad attempt of a laugh.

"No. She'll be learning the hard way," Tim answered.

David looked all over Tim's face slowly, wondering how the hell they all ended up where they currently were. Pressing another kiss to Tim's forehead, David finally pulled his hands away.

"The spare key to Penny's house is in the main drawer of my desk in my office. It'll be hard to miss," David told Tim. "Now go. I'll swing by later after I attempt to remove our family's heads out of their own asses. And take Sarah with you."

Nodding in acknowledgment, Tim let out a heavy breath and turned back to collect his, Evelyn's, and now Sarah's things. David braced himself and headed back to the main group, leaving Tim alone. This entire day was turning into an episode of the Twilight Zone, as far as Tim was concerned, and he just wanted it to be over.


	25. Reconciliation

"Tim, what are you going to do? I've never seen Mom act like that before," Sarah asked. She cradled a cup of tea in her hands, using the warmth to soothe her nerves as she came down from her adrenaline rush caused by the argument at the beach.

"I don't know, Sarah," Tim sighed. He was slouched in one of his grandmother's living room chairs, one of his hands wearily covering his eyes. "Just wait until Dad gets here."

"That's another thing," Sarah continued. "What on Earth did Dad say to you after the two of you walked away from the group? Dad's truly been replaced by a pod person."

"He didn't say much, Sarah. He just asked that I don't return to DC yet," Tim said.

"Sarah, your father has been through a lot the last year. Give him the chance to speak for himself before interrogating Timothy about it any further," Evelyn spoke up. She didn't look up from her laptop screen as she continued typing, having commandeered most of the breakfast bar to spread out story notes and paperwork from her publisher.

"You spoke with him about his and Tim's ongoing grudge during the car ride to the house earlier, didn't you?" Sarah turned her attention to Evelyn.

"I'm a psychologist. People talk to me," Evelyn replied.

"What did you do?" Tim asked, finally removing his hand from his face to give Evelyn a look.

"Nothing!" Evelyn said. When Tim's look turned stern, she backtracked. "Nothing  _bad_. All I did was make the observation that he hasn't been acting the way you two have made me believe he would act like."

"I don't remember asking you to come to my defense," Tim said facetiously.

"You're my boyfriend, Timothy. You didn't have to," Evelyn said, turning back to her laptop.

"Regardless, everyone has been acting very weirdly and it needs to stop," Sarah spoke up in a tone that said she wasn't going to entertain any argument on the matter.

"I'll try my best," Tim replied, resting his head against the back of the chair again.

The three of them fell into silence, the only sound filling the air being Evelyn's typing on her laptop. There wasn't much else for any of them to say until David arrived to let them know what happened after they left the beach. It took a few hours, but he finally appeared closer to dinner time.

"I would have been here sooner, but your cousins triggered another argument after you left," David said as he walked in the door.

"Do we have any family left that likes each other?" Sarah asked from her spot in front of the stove. She and Tim took over cooking, both of them in agreement that Evelyn would just get in the way in the unknown-to-her kitchen if she tried to help.

"I left mid-argument, so I'm sure we'll find out by morning," David replied. He approached Tim and gave Tim a concerned look. "Are you feeling any better now that you've had a few hours to calm down?"

"My blood pressure is down, if that's what you're asking about," Tim said, not looking up from the pile of vegetables he was chopping up. He sent the chef's knife through the potatoes with more force than necessary, sending a hard thunking noise throughout the kitchen with each chop. David reached out and grabbed Tim's wrists before Tim could start on another potato.

"Sorta, but that's not everything I'm asking about," David said. He took the knife out of Tim's hand and set it aside so he could get Tim's full attention. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not, Dad," Tim said, finally looking up at his father. "Mom doesn't need to say it, but I already know she fully plans on disowning me if I stay with Evelyn."

"Don't worry about that at the moment. Despite the earful your mother received from me today, she's still going to get another tongue lashing from Penny tomorrow. Your grandmother isn't going to tolerate any of this," David assured Tim.

"Since when did Mom ever listen to Penny?" Tim asked, pulling his wrists out of David's grasp so he could continue chopping the vegetables for dinner.

"Don't underestimate how angry Penny can become. Especially when her favorite grandchild is involved," David said, letting out an amused smile.

"Oh, I wonder who that could be!" Sarah called out sarcastically, earning a chunk of potato to the back of her head as Tim tossed it at her.

"I'll believe Penny's capable of anger when I see it," Tim said.

"How's Jeremy taking his farewell weekend?" Evelyn spoke up, diverting the conversation. She closed her laptop and pushed it aside.

"As well as you'd expect. He's already retreated to his motel room for the rest of the evening. He mentioned swinging by here tomorrow, once Penny's home, so I have a feeling he'll be returning to New York to finish packing his apartment once he's seen his grandmother," David said.

"So I take it the others aren't doing tonight's planned dinner, either?" Tim asked.

"I already called the restaurant to cancel our reservation, so they all can scatter to the wind for all I care," David muttered. "Sarah, think you can handle taking over for your brother for a short while? He and I need to talk."

Tim immediately stopped chopping vegetables. He knew that tone. It wasn't good or bad, but it did mean the discussion was happening.

"Yeah. If I need help, Evelyn's here," Sarah said.

"Okay, good," David said. He patted Tim on the arm and motioned towards the deck outside the kitchen's patio doors. "Tim, come on. Let's sit outside."

"Alright," Tim said. He threw Evelyn a pseudo 'Help me' look before following his father out onto the deck.

"Really, though, how are you doing?" David asked as they settled onto the patio sofa.

"Dad, that is the third time you've asked in the last ten minutes," Tim said, not being able to hold in a chuckle.

"It's been a while. I need to catch up," David pointed out.

Tim fell silent for a few moments to gather his thoughts. He hadn't expected to actually be  _talking_  with his father at all this weekend, so he was blindsided about being put on the spot.

"Work has been fine. We don't have any major cases at the moment," Tim began. "My boss, Special Agent Gibbs, pulled some strings so I could make it this weekend. We were originally supposed to be on-call."

"Sounds like a good man," David commented.

"He is. Gibbs always has all of our backs. We're not the best team in the agency for nothing," Tim said.

"What about your 'night job'? Evelyn said you two met at a writer's convention," David asked.

Tim let out a laugh. Evelyn always liked to tell people how the two of them met. She found it amusing.

"It's going as well as one can hope. My publisher is waiting on me to finish more chapters for my sequel, Rock Hollow, but my 'day job' keeps getting in the way. I'm fortunate she's so understanding of how hectic a federal agent's schedule can be," Tim said. "My dog, however, ain't so willing to deal with it some days."

"You got a dog? You  _hated_  dogs growing up," David said, giving Tim a look of disbelief.

"I was kinda forced into keeping him. He was the dog of a victim from an old case of ours. The lab technician at the Navy Yard, Abby, insisted I take the dog home when her landlord wouldn't let her keep him. Now he loves me more than Abby, much to her irritation," Tim grinned. "Though, some days he loves Evelyn more than me, so I think he's a fickle dog who only loves whoever is currently giving him the most belly rubs."

"Pets usually work that way," David said.

Silence grew between the two of them, both of them wondering who was going to address the elephant in the room – or, in their case, the elephant on the deck – first. Several years of talks and discussions to catch up on meant there was too many places to start. Too many places to potentially screw up this entire conversation.

"Sarah and I took bets on when you were replaced with a pod person. Care to elaborate so I can find out if she owes me $50?" Tim broke the silence. David burst into laughter at the blunt comment.

"I'm only worth $50? If I say a date that helps you win, how much of a cut do I get?" David shot back.

"$10 and more time to fanboy over Evelyn. Only offer," Tim said.

"Hard bargain, but I'll take it. What time frame did you bet?"

"Sarah seems to think this was a recent development, so anything longer than the last three months aught to do it."

David burst into laughter again, confusing Tim.

"I was replaced with a pod person back in March, Tim. You just lost $10 for no reason," David said. Tim groaned in irritation.

"Sarah's been feisty all weekend. I'm sure I can win another bet off of her and regain my losses," Tim said confidently. David nodded in agreement, pulling Tim's attention back to him. Tim sighed and waited a moment before continuing. "Dad, what happened in March?"

"Ralph Cotterman passed away last November. His kids put the place up for sale and had a buyer really quick. But your mother and I weren't able to invite the new neighbors over until March," David answered.

"I take it the new neighbors have something to do with this?" Tim wondered.

"I took them on a tour of the house while your mother prepped for the neighborhood BBQ. It was our turn to host. Long story short, my lack of talking about you apparently gave them the impression that you had died recently," David said.

"Wait, what?" Tim did a double take. "What on earth made them think that?"

"I was talking about your mother and Sarah so much that I didn't realize I hadn't said a single word about you yet at that point. They saw your picture on our wall and made assumptions," David replied.

"I don't talk about you much, either, but no one I know back in DC has  _ever_  assumed that it was because you were dead!" Tim exclaimed.

"I don't know, Tim. It might be a west coast thing. They moved here from Washington," David said. He sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. "In hindsight, it was amusing to watch them backtrack to attempt to remove their feet from their mouths, but at the time it was a not-so-nice reminder that there could come a day where they're not wrong. You cannot begin to understand how paranoid I've been since March every time the phone rang."

"Dad, I'm fine. I've got a great team at work. Nothing's going to happen to me," Tim insisted.

"Tim, Sarah tells us every time you've had a close call at work because she knows you don't do it, yourself. Don't try to say nothing's ever going to happen," David said.

Tim fell silent. He had been hoping Sarah wasn't being a snitch every time something minor happened at work, but clearly she was. It was probably a miracle he hadn't received a phone call from home about it all this time. Hell, it was a miracle he didn't receive a surprise visit a couple times.

"I don't say anything because I don't want you two to worry about something after the fact," Tim spoke up.

"We don't worry about what's already happened, Tim. We worry about whether or not the next thing that's gonna happen will be the one that kills you," David corrected. "I worked in Navy politics long enough to know that your job, alone, can create a lot of enemies for you. It's why I retired at my first opportunity. But Tim, your job is much more dangerous than anything I ever faced. You get shot at more times in a year than I did my entire career in the Navy."

"It's a job that needs to be done, Dad," Tim began to argue.

"I'm not saying to quit your job, Tim," David said, raising a hand to placate Tim. "I'm not saying that. What I  _am_  saying is that, some days, having a family member in federal law enforcement is far more nerve wracking than having a family member in the military."

"Hardly. Dad, I'm not going to active war zones for my cases," Tim pointed out.

"When someone in the military returns home from deployment, they're safe. There's no equivalent for you, Tim. With the criminals you face knowing your name, not even home is safe if they decide to go after you. I know it's not the same as worrying about the safety of someone in the military, but it's not exactly easier," David said. "You're my son, Tim. I love you. The last thing I want is for you to be killed on the job and the last things we said to each other was an argument over you having said job in the first place."

Tim turned his head away from David and took a few deep breaths to steady himself. His instinct was to continue to insist that nothing was going to happen, but Tim knew it wouldn't work. Not when his father understood what being federal law enforcement entailed. Ducky's old assistant, Gerald, proved that there was no such thing as being 100% safe on the job when you worked for a federal agency. Wiping at his face, wondering when the hell he started crying, Tim turned back to David.

"I don't know what you want me to say, Dad," Tim admitted. "I've worked my ass off to stay on the MCRT. I'm doing exactly what I wanted to do since the moment I joined FLETC. It's not an easy job, it's not a safe job, but it's a job that someone needs to do and I insist on being the one to do it."

David looked his son in the face as he carefully considered his next words.

"Just don't be taking any unnecessary risks if it's going to put your life on the line. And call home more often, okay? It'd be nice to get an update from  _you_  once in a while instead of your sister."

"I can do that," Tim chuckled in a wobbly tone.

Neither man said anything else right away. It felt odd to finally reach an agreement on a years-long argument that had the both of them giving each other the cold shoulder for so long. The catharsis was unexpected.

Not really wanting to fight it anymore, Tim threw himself at his father in the same way David threw himself at Tim at the beach earlier, shoving his face into David's shoulder again. Tim felt like a small child again, crying into his parent's shoulder after a bad nightmare, but it felt accurate after everything that had happened since that morning. David hugged back and started running a hand through Tim's hair again, remaining silent as he let Tim cry everything out. This was hardly the best family reunion they've ever had. Things were bound to only become more interesting once Penny returned home tomorrow and found out what all has happened.


	26. The Matriarch

"Did your wife get brain damage while I've been gone?!" Penny shrieked at David.

Sarah, Tim, and Evelyn sat on the living room couch silently, letting David do all the talking.

"No, Mom. She hasn't. It's just been a really screwed up weekend, alright? I've already banned Betsy from my house and I have no idea what the hell is wrong with Jennifer," David replied.

"Do not get me started on your sister, David. I'll deal with her disgusting behavior later. Let's stay focused on the fact that your wife seems to have lost all common sense!" Penny continued. "So Tim's girlfriend is young. So what?! She's an adult! Her age is hardly grounds to completely disown him!"

"Mom, I already said as much to Jennifer multiple times. She won't back off," David sighed.

" _I_  will deal with your witch of a wife. Don't you worry about that," Penny hissed. She breathed deeply with her eyes closed and paused a moment before turning towards the couch with a smile. "Anyway, Sarah! Tim! It is absolutely lovely to see you two again! I feel like I never get to see you anymore."

Sarah took the prompting to stand up and hug Penny. Tim followed suit, leaving Evelyn alone on the couch.

"It's great being able to visit again!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Getting time off work is certainly difficult, Penny. My boss had to pull some strings to get me the time to come down here," Tim said.

"All the better. All the better. Now, an introduction needs to be made here. I take it that this young lady is the new flame?" Penny asked, motioning to Evelyn to get up and join everyone else. Evelyn smiled and got up, laughing when Penny pulled her into a hug.

"Yeah. Penny, this is my girlfriend, Evelyn. Evelyn, this is my paternal grandmother, Penny," Tim said.

"Timothy hasn't told me much about you," Evelyn admitted as she pulled away from the hug.

"That's okay. I'm used to people meeting me without being forewarned," Penny said.

Evelyn's face went slightly pale and she turned to look at Tim for guidance on what to possibly say next, but Tim only gave her an amused smirk.

"Mom, be nice," David said from behind Penny.

"Oh, stop being a worry wart, David. You know Tim is my favorite. I'm not going to scare off his little darling," Penny shot over her shoulder before giving Evelyn another smile. "Now, I have so much to learn about you. I haven't caught up with Tim in a while, meaning he hasn't had the chance to tell me about you yet."

"I am sure we have a lot of stories to exchange," Evelyn agreed.

"And that's my cue to take Sarah and go grab lunch for us all," Tim spoke up.

Evelyn threw Tim another look as the others laughed. She said nothing, however, as he and Sarah collected their things and headed out the door after a few suggestions on what to get. Evelyn would be hard-pressed to argue with Tim at the moment.

"I'm sure you're not going to like this, either, but I really need to head back to the house and have another talk with my wife," David said to Evelyn with an apologetic look. "Get that done and out of the way before my mother can sink her teeth in."

"I am not that bad," Penny insisted, but she went ignored.

"That is certainly understandable, David. It hasn't exactly been the best family reunion, I'm sure," Evelyn replied. "I'll be fine here."

"Okay, good," David said. He gave Penny a look that said 'Behave', rolling his eyes when Penny returned his look with an annoyed one. A few rushed good byes later, Evelyn was alone in the house with Penny.

"Darling, they're really just trying to scare you. My late husband was a little bit of a shit starter, and David inherited that trait. Tim and Sarah both get it from him," Penny assured Evelyn. "Now, are you a tea drinker or a coffee drinker? Come on into the kitchen. We'll brew a pot while we wait for them to return. I want to hear everything about how you and Tim met."

Bracing herself in anticipation, Evelyn followed Penny into the kitchen. She had noticed that Tim, Sarah, and David, once relaxed, were quite the mischievous bunch. Here's to hoping that Penny was telling the truth and that they got it from David's father and not Penny.

* * *

"How did it go with Mom?" Sarah asked as David entered Penny's house. An irritated look appeared on David's face as he thought over how to answer, which told the others everything they needed to know about his discussion with Jennifer.

"David, I am going to your house with or without you after we're done eating lunch," Penny said in a tone that made it clear she wouldn't accept any arguments against it.

"You know what? Have at it," David sighed as he sat at the kitchen table with the others.

"Jeremy has already come and gone," Tim said, switching topics. "He said he'd give you a call once he's back in New York."

"It's okay. I understand why he'd be in a rush to go back home. I don't think we have much of a family reunion anymore. Other than Betsy, who's still hovering around in her motel room according to your mother, your aunts, uncles, and most of your cousins have already begun to leave. It's going to be just the handful of us shortly," David replied.

"That'll give me ample opportunity to speak with Betsy and Jennifer," Penny said.

"Are you sure speaking with either of them is the best move at the moment? I'm sure they'll still be a bit hot-headed from the arguments yesterday," Evelyn spoke up. She picked at a piece of bacon that was sticking out of her BLT.

"All the more reason to do it now. It'll drive the point home. You're a wonderful young woman, Evelyn, and the age difference between you and Tim is a piss-poor reason to treat you the way they have been. They've been going on and on about your age the last two days, yet  _you_ are the mature one between the three of you. Yes, I very much  _will_  be speaking with them  _today_ ," Penny insisted. She paused a moment to consider the four people in front of her before giving Tim and David a look. "And I want to know about your sudden willingness to speak with each other again. You can tell me later this evening."

"Of course, Mom," David said, blindly agreeing. He was no longer in the mood to be arguing anything.

"Yes, Penny," Tim echoed.

"Why can't you agree with me like that when I tell you to do things?" Evelyn whined, causing Sarah to snort around her mouthful of food. Tim gave Evelyn a bitch face and debated if he really wanted to answer. He refused to open that door, only to become a door mat.

"Spite," Tim shot back. David sighed and rubbed at his face to hide the grin forming behind his hand as Sarah began coughing next to him. She grabbed at her drink and downed a large gulp of it, still coughing as she attempted to clear her airways after her aborted laugh.

"See? They're perfect together," Penny said to David with a grin.

"I do see that," David confirmed.

"I love you both," Tim replied sarcastically, not specifying which two people he was talking to. He let out a huff of irritation and stood up, collecting his empty dishes to take them to the sink.

"If you're finished, then you can come with me," Penny declared as she stood up and collected her own empty dishes, following Tim to the sink.

"Mom, that's a bad idea. Tim's been through enough this weekend," David said quickly.

"I'm going to shove this entire situation in Jennifer's face with everything I've got, David, and that includes bringing you two with me to remind her of who she's dealing with," Penny said. She set her dishes down in the sink basin and turned back to face David. "You are family, David. You are my family. If your wife is going to draw the line in the sand over something as insignificant as this, then I'm dragging you, Tim, and Sarah across it, so help me, God."

"If it's all fair to you, Penelope, I'd rather stay here as you do that. My presence there would not be helpful in the slightest," Evelyn spoke up before an argument between Penny and David could start.

"Agreed. Evelyn is absolutely not coming with," Tim said firmly. He refused to bring Evelyn into his family drama any more than she already was.

"I wasn't going to argue, Tim. No need to use your law enforcement voice with us," Penny said with a chuckle, lightly tapping Tim on the back of the head before walking back to the table.

"Aww. But how else is he supposed to sound assertive?" Sarah asked, grinning at Tim as he threw her a dark look.

"I'm sure he'll find a way," Penny said. "Sarah, sweetheart, you stay here with Evelyn. We're not dragging you into this, either. David, Tim, come on. My daughter-in-law and I need to have a talk."

The sour look from that morning when Penny was first told what happened returned to her face as she began to collect her things to leave. Tim gave David a helpless look, not knowing what else to say to stave off the argument with his mother any longer, but David provided no answers. He, too, didn't know how to stop the locomotive that was his mother. Groaning, Tim hung his head a few seconds before picking it back up and began to recollect his things to leave the house again.


	27. Mother Dearest

“I half expected your sister to be here,” Penny commented to David as he parked his car in front of the house.

“Betsy may be an idiot, but she's not that stupid,” David replied.

Tim sighed. A lot could be said about his aunt's intelligence, but now really wasn't the time. He's rather be far away when Penny got around to confronting Betsy.

“Now,” Penny began saying as they all got out of the car. “How did your earlier discussion with Jennifer end?”

“Me warning her that I had no hope in stopping you from coming here, yourself,” David said. Tim snorted in amusement and stepped behind David when Penny threw a look. “Other than that, Mom, it was just a rehash of our argument at the beach yesterday. It was going nowhere.”

“Good. Then I can start with what I want to start with,” Penny declared. David and Tim exchanged worried looks as they followed Penny into the house. That tone from Penny usually only meant one thing. Penny was barely done setting her purse down when she inhaled sharply. “Jennifer McGee!”

Noises could be heard coming from the kitchen. Penny immediately followed them to their source, leaving David and Tim to follow after. They were greeted with the sight of Jennifer surrounded by piles of dishes filling the counters as she used a dry rag to wipe out a cabinet.

“What do you want, Penny?” Jennifer asked without turning away from her cleaning.

“For starters, an explanation that fully explains how you've lost so many brain cells since we last spoke!” Penny snapped. She surged forward and stood behind the island counter so it was between her and Jennifer.

Penny's question caused Jennifer to sigh and turn around, pausing a moment when she saw that David and Tim were also there. She stared at Penny for a few moments to study the look on Penny's face. A stubborn expression appeared on Jennifer's face after a few seconds.

“That _girl_ is barely into adulthood, Penny,” Jennifer said, making it clear she knew precisely what Penny was getting at.

“And yet she acts more mature than you and Betsy combined! Do explain how that makes her a terrible choice of significant other for Tim, because I am just not seeing it,” Penny shot back.

“He has cousins with children older than her!” Jennifer exclaimed.

“How is that in any way relevant to Tim? David's my _youngest_ , Jennifer, with a 12-year age difference between him and my oldest. And they all had kids at a young age. David was _8-years-old_ when his first nephew was born. None of that is Tim's fault!”

“It's inappropriate!”

“Explain to me how!”

David and Tim looked back and forth as Penny and Jennifer yelled at each other, neither of them too willing to interrupt. Tim was half tempted to go sit at the kitchen table because it was probably going to be a while, but he didn't want to draw attention to himself.

“He could have babysat her in college, Penny! _College_!” Jennifer said.

“Tim didn't meet her until she was already an adult! And it was a handful of months before they even started dating! You are throwing a fit about a relationship between two consenting adults. Do you not realize how ridiculous you sound?!”

“She is hardly an adult!”

“That is not for you to judge!” Penny snapped, a disgusted look growing on her face.

“Penny, you look me in the eye and tell me that other people aren't gonna wonder about them! Evelyn looks her age! Tim is in his 30s! I promise you, Betsy and I aren't the only ones who'll be thinking it!” Jennifer yelled back.

“Other. People. Don't. Matter,” Penny slowly hissed out through gritted teeth. “Only this family matters. And you've made it quite clear that you don't want to belong to it!”

“Mom,” David spoke up, stepping forward. “Let's not go kicking people out of the family just yet.”

“What other option is there, David? Your wife seems all too eager to turn her back on Tim. It's only fair to return the favor!” Penny argued.

“I'm not turning my back on my son, Penelope!” Jennifer snapped, giving Penny an incredulous look.

“Then just what _are_ you doing, Mom?” Tim finally spoke up, pulling everyone's attention to him. He gave his mother a tired look and let out a small scoff. “I came down here fully expecting Dad to be the one to freak out over my and Evelyn's age difference. I came here _expecting_ Dad to disown me. And yet, here I am, in the fucking Twilight Zone, because Dad has been begging me to stay in Key West longer and you have all but straight out called me a pedophile. _What_ are you doing, Mom, if not throwing me out on my ass?”

“Tim, darling...” Jennifer began. She opened and closed her mouth a few times as she searched for the words. “Tim, your relationship with Evelyn is not going to be an easy one. You're going to be ostracized by so many people you meet once they realize how much of an age gap is between you and her. I do not want that for you.”

“Mom, my coworkers are the ones who _encouraged_ me to ask Evelyn out. I originally wasn't going to _because_ of the age difference. Clearly people in DC are far more understanding than you give them credit for,” Tim said.

“And even then, Tim doesn't owe anyone an explanation,” Penny pointed out. Jennifer glanced at Penny with a look of irritation .

“So you're willing to put up with the endless barrage of cradle-robbing, sugar-daddy comments that are in your future? For this girl you've known less than a year?” Jennifer asked Tim, obviously not believing it.

“Mom, you haven't even taken the time to speak with Evelyn. You can't make that kind of judgment. She and I just... We just click. When Evelyn first met Tony, Ziva, and the others, Tony was so positive that I had known her longer than I was claiming and had been holding out that he confronted me about it later. Abby had thought that Evelyn and I had been dating for _months_ and threw a jealous fit. And these are professionals whose jobs are to read people, Mom. They don't make that kind of mistake often. You've been so focused on Evelyn's age and feeding off Aunt Betsy's own anger that you are missing out on truly _meeting_ Evelyn,” Tim said. He gave his mother a look before continuing. “Evelyn's only here because _you_ insisted I bring her, after all.”

Jennifer looked away at Tim's comment. She remembered that phone call. She had refused to accept any argument from Tim on the matter.

“You what?” David asked, looking at Jennifer in surprise. Penny looked at Jennifer in shock, as well.

“When I called Tim to tell him about the reunion, I had just gotten off the phone with Sarah. She had told me he had a new, mystery girlfriend. I told him to bring his girlfriend so we could meet her,” Jennifer explained.

“You _ordered_ Tim to bring his girlfriend, and you have the nerve to be angry with him about who he's dating?!” David yelled.

“How was I supposed to know that Tim was dating a teenager?! He didn't give any details about her!” Jennifer shot back.

“Probably because he knew you would react exactly the way you currently are,” Penny snapped in disgust. “Jennifer, I am simply astounded by how ignorant you are acting right now.”

“And _you_ are acting rather blase!” Jennifer said.

“Mom,” Tim interrupted before anyone else could continue the pot shots back and forth. The McGee Stubbornness began to show on his face as he inhaled deeply to brace himself. He had reached his limit and wasn't going to put up it anymore. “Mom, I am not leaving Evelyn. Breaking up with her because you and Aunt Betsy want me to is just not happening. And I am _done_ with constantly fighting with family every time I come home. So that leaves you with two choices. Either act like an adult and _get over it_ or I leave to go back home to DC today and make no plans to come back. Dad and I have finally reconciled after all these years, Mom. I'm not starting Round Two with you. If that means not coming home until you pull the stick out of your ass, then so be it.”

Penny and David gaped at Tim. Drawing a line in the sand was not something they expected him to do when he got dragged along. Penny started this argument, and they had expected Penny to end it. Jennifer, however, left her face blank as she maintained the eye contact Tim made with her when he gave his ultimatum. Silence fell over everyone for several moments before Jennifer broke it by exhaling sharply. She tore her eyes away from Tim and focused on some random object across the room.

“Bring your bags back home, Tim,” Jennifer said, barely above a whisper. “Your scheduled flight home isn't until the day after tomorrow.”

Tim stared at his mother a few seconds more to judge how much he was going to believe her response. Happy enough with what he saw, he walked forward and pressed a kiss onto her cheek like he had always done before leaving the house while growing up. Tim gave David and Penny a look that said 'Hurry up' as he pulled away from Jennifer and headed for the door to go wait by the car, wanting to let the situation settle down as smoothly as possible.

If Tim and Evelyn were coming back to the house, then they needed to repack the few things they had removed from their bags the previous night. That meant Tim needed to return to Penny's house right away. Not to mention that Tim did _not_ want to be there when Penny dragged his father along to go confront his Aunt Betsy. That whole scenario didn't have any possible way of ending on a good note, and Tim was done dealing with confrontations for the rest of the weekend.

 


End file.
